


Willow

by Mystic_Moonstone



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Clans (Warriors), F/M, Kittypets (Warriors), Original Cat Clans (Warriors), Original Character(s), Originally Posted Elsewhere, Tribe of Rushing Water (Warriors), Twolegs (Warriors), Will probably include Tribe cats, originally posted on Quotev
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:29:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28414665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystic_Moonstone/pseuds/Mystic_Moonstone
Summary: As a small kitten, Ash was taken from her mother and her littermates by twolegs and has been trying to escape ever since. When she does, she meets a strange group of cats and is invited to join the clan life.
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Character(s)/Original Female Character(s), Original Character(s)/Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 3





	1. Twolegs!

Stretching on her long limbs, Ash let out a huge yawn that showed all of her razor sharp teeth. She had tried to sleep for a long time now, but the yowling of the twolegs never seemed to get any quieter. In fact, it only seemed to get louder. Ash narrowed her eyes from her high up perch in the twoleg room. It was the second highest thing she could land on in the room, but the adult twolegs still managed to tower above it.

There was, of course, another sleep option for Ash. No twoleg seemed to have any idea on how to get so far up. But, it wasn't safe enough to sleep on and if she ever did sleep on it, upon waking, Ash would most likely bang her head on the ceiling. The thing also seemed to spin whenever the twolegs pushed something on their den walls. The spinning was sure to make Ash fall off, and if she didn't fall, she'd be very dizzy and sick after the terrifying ride.

Sighing, Ash leaped off her high-up perch and started padding out the den. She shook herself as she yawned once more, licking a paw and drawing it over her ear. Maybe this time, she'd manage to escape.

Ash hadn't been a kittypet her entire life. When she was still a small kitten, she'd lived with her mother and her siblings as rogues on the outskirts of twolegplace. They barely had enough food to feed all of them, but Ash preferred that life over the life of a kittypet. She hated depending on twolegs for food and shelter when she was capable of providing all of that on her own. If she could just get out of this awful twoleg home, she'd get to go back to the freedom of being a rogue and possibly reunite with her mother, her brothers, and her sisters, whom she had lost so long ago.

It wasn't Ash's fault or Ash's littermates' fault. It was the twolegs and that was another reason to why Ash hated them so much. But as much as she hated to admit it, she knew deep inside her that it was also partially her mother's fault. Her mother's fault, for simply staring and watching as the entire scene enfolded:

_ Ash let out her most threatening snarl as she pounced on her brown tabby sister. "I got you now, Lilac!" _

_ "Sure you do!" Lilac wriggled underneath her sister's weight. "But not for long." She heaved herself up rolling Ash over on her back. Ash lunged and playfully nipped her sister's ear. _

_ "Ow! That hurt! You're not fair." Lilac shook her sister off indignantly. "That was my favorite ear!" _

_ "How can you have a favorite ear?" Ash wondered. "That's silly!" _

_ "Kits..." Their mother, Lily, called to them. "Come here." _

_ "Why Mother?!" Lilac asked. "What's wrong?" She and Ash began padding over to their mother's side along with the rest of her littermates. _

_ Both Lilac and Ash noticed how their mother's body had suddenly stiffened. Lilac's tail twitched nervously and she pressed closer to her mothers brown tabby fur. She had always looked exactly like her mother: Same brown tabby fur, white chest and belly fur, white around her muzzle, and a white stripe down her nose. The only difference was that the kittens' mother had four white paws, while Lilac had only one. _

_ Their mother stood on her paws, holding her front right paw at an awkward angle. She'd gotten it twisted from a fight with another rogue cat for food. She sniffed the air, her ears twitching as she listened to the sounds in all different directions.  _

_ "Twolegs." Their mother whispered so softly, Ash almost didn't hear. She'd heard other cats talking about twolegs, but had no clue what they were. _

_ Without warning, the kits' mother reached down and grabbed Lilac by her scruff before racing off, not even taking a glance at the rest of her litter.  _ If I can save one kit, I'll save Lilac. _ She thought. _

" _ Wait Mama, Wait!" Ash and her two brothers called after staying still for a moment, in shock at their mother forgetting about them. The three kits scampered after their mother as fast as their tiny legs carried them. Ash's youngest brother Dusty tripped over his fore-paws and Ash went back to help him before both raced away. _

_ They now trailed far behind their mother and Lilac as well as their other brother. "Wait!" They cried as they tried to catch up. They were in unfamiliar twoleg territory and all four kittens were scared. Ash started to pull ahead of Dusty, but she knew he was right behind her as she could feel his breath on her tail. But suddenly his breath disappeared and Ash heard his "Wait!" screams turn into "Help!" screams. _

_ Tiny heart beating fast, Ash slowly turned on her paws and stared in horror at the scene in front of her. Dusty was being lifted far above the ground by two strangely shaped hairless paws.  _ Twolegs. _ She knew what they were immediately, they looked exactly like her mother and other rogues had told her in their scary stories. Strange pink hairless skin, loose colorful pelts that seemed to hang off of their skin. Their faces hairless except for at the very top and some had just a little on their lower face. They stood on their back legs and towered above everyone. _

_ Ash whimpered as the same twoleg who'd captured Dusty reached down for her. She unsheathed tiny claws and scratched at it's hairless paw. It snatched its paw back in surprise and Ash took that moment to dash in and bite down hard on one of its exposed hind paws. The twoleg yowled in pain, dropping Dusty and trying to shake off Ash. Ash tumbled off before standing again and getting ready to run, only to glance back and see Dusty in the grasp of another twoleg. _

_ The first twoleg reached for Ash again but out of the corner of her eye, Ash noticed her other brother, Grey dash in front of her and claw at the twoleg's hand. Ash saw Dusty claw at the other twoleg's face as he tried to free himself from the tight grasp. Together the three of them fought their hardest against the twolegs and Ash couldn't help but wonder where their mother was. Then she saw her. Ash's mother stood in a shady area with Lilac still in her jaws. Lilac fought in her mother's grasp, but their mother just sat their with her tail curled around her paws, her face expressionless. _

_ Suddenly Ash's brothers were beside her. _

_ "Run!" Grey screamed. And the three turned and raced away straight towards their mother. Upon seeing them coming towards her, their mother got to her paws, stretched, and leaped up racing away. Dusty, Grey, and Ash followed hard at her paws, running faster now that they knew what the threat was. Ash noticed her mother set Lilac down and Lilac kept pace with her mother. _

_ Suddenly a loud noise filled the air and Ash and her littermates couldn't help but whimper in terror. They were nearing the forest, a place they'd always been forbidden to go. Surely the twolegs couldn't have followed them here. _

_ Ash's mother, Lily, stopped and turned around, her eyes narrowed. Her four kittens crouched beside her and slowly, starting with Lilac they fearfully turned around. The twolegs had disappeared but another strange scent filled Ash's nostrils. Her mother, Lily whimpered. _

_ "Dogs." _

_ Ash's eyes widened in terror. She'd seen a dog once, when she was a very, very tiny kit. They were huge menacing creatures, three times the size of a cat, with floppy ears and evil eyes. Sure enough, two dogs burst into the clearing. They were tall and lean, with huge muscles rippling beneath their black and brown pelts. They caught site of the mother and her kittens and their tails lashed furiously. _ One crept towards them, drool hanging out of it's mouth and dripping to the ground as it got nearer.

_ The kittens screamed and raced away. Lily picked up Lilac and joined them. But the five of them, mother and kits, weren't fast enough. The dogs had them surrounded and Lily could hear the twolegs not far behind. Lily dropped Lilac and stood over her daughter, snarling at the dogs. Her other kits crowded around her, but Lily paid them no attention. _

_ It wasn't her fault Lily was this way. She'd been raised to have favorites and when in danger, to only protect one of the kittens. If one came out alive, she'd know she was a good mother. And this was how she had lived, as it was because of this reason that all of her littermates had died. Her mother had protected her and no one else so of course she knew nothing better. _

_ Grey let out a fearful yowl as one of the dogs lunged and picked him up by his scruff. The other three kits watched in pure horror as the dog shook its head and Grey yelped in terror, crying for help and waving his little legs in panic as he tried to fight back. Ash wanted to help him but she was too frozen in terror to move. And it was because of this that the remaining four cats didn't notice the twolegs creep up on them. _

_ The first two managed to grab Dusty and Ash but Lily bit at the third. The twolegs held Dusty and Ash in a way so they were helpless to fight back, like Grey was. Ash looked down at her brother as she was lifted higher into the air and squealed in horror to see that he hung limply in the dog's jaws. Was he dead? No, he couldn't be dead. _

_ The twolegs had a strange conversation before turning and starting to walk away, leaving Lily, Lilac, and one of the two dogs. The other trotted beside the third twoleg, who took Grey from it and headed in a different direction than the other two. _

_ Ash wriggled around to look back one last time. She saw her mother, Lily fighting furiously with the other dog. She saw her sister, Lilac wriggle out from underneath her mother and race away, into the forest. A strange ginger she-cat dashed in to help Lily. Lilac was nowhere to be seen. Then the twoleg holding Ash turned a corner, and Ash could no longer see or hear what was happening anymore. _

And now she was here. Ash looked up as she felt the hairless paw of a twoleg touch her paw. She flinched but did her best not to move away. She had to gain their trust. After many failed attempts at running away, she found that the only way to escape was to make the twolegs not suspicious of her. She'd been doing this for days, but knew she'd never be able to get comfortable around a twoleg again. It was their fault all of this had happened. If it hadn't been for them, Grey, Dusty, and Lilac would still be here. Even  _ Lily _ would be here, cleaning her four kittens and hunting for them.

But the twolegs had to ruin that. And they had to ruin Ash's escape chances. They ruined everything! And Ash had every right to hate them for it.


	2. Escape

Ash kept her ears perked as she choked down the hardened rabbit pellets she'd never gotten used to. At night, she sometimes managed to catch a house rat, but it wasn't common and the hardened pellets were all she was able to eat for now. Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched the twolegs noisily move around in their den. Their kit reached down to touch Ash, who used all of her strength to try not to flinch away. She could only hope the little twoleg wouldn't pick her up and was extremely grateful when it didn't.

Ash finished with the hardened pellets and started to lap at he water. It wasn't bad, but it smelled of twolegs and had a weird filtered taste to it. It wasn't at all like the water Ash, her littermates, and her mother used to drink when they were all together. And it was certainly very different from the cool and refreshing water in the streams of the forest.

Despite the fact that Ash disliked each of the meals the twolegs provided for her, she ate them with no complaint. She had to keep her strength up for today was the day she'd run away. Ash finished the horrid meal and licked her lips to try and get the taste away. Then she leaped up onto the perch of a _window_ and sat there with her tail hanging down. She looked out with longing eyes at the forest but knew deep inside her that today would be the last day she'd be cooped up in this horrid twoleg nest and the first day she'd be able to live in the wild in a long time.

Ash narrowed her leafy green eyes as she watched the outside world, designing an escape plan for how she'd lose the twolegs and enter the world of the wild. 

One of the twolegs noticed Ash staring outside, and started yowling at her and pointing to the door. Ash leapt down from her perch with a sigh. _What did the twolegs want this time?_ she wondered, padding over to the twoleg. To her surprise, the twoleg opened the door. 

_It shouldn't be so easy._ Ash thought as she hesitantly took a step outside for the first time in a very long time. She crossed the unnaturally short, even grass over to the fence that separated the twoleg den from the rest of the twolegplace. With a quick glance behind her, she noticed the twoleg still holding the door open and watching Ash.

_Can't leave now,_ Ash thought as she bunched her muscles and leaped to the top of the fence. Stumbling a little, she used her tail to regain her balance, before staring out into the wild, which was closer to her than ever before. 

Ash let out a small yelp as she felt a hairless and strange paw patting her head. The feel was kind of comforting, but Ash didn't like it and probably never would. The twoleg made some strange noises to Ash before turning and heading back inside the nest and closing the door. Taking another glance behind her, Ash noticed the twoleg watching from the window.

Sighing, Ash carefully laid herself down on the fence as something caught her eye. Fresh, clear water was barely visible through the wide trunks of the trees. Ash's mouth watered as she longed to taste it and wondered how long it would be until she could. Bored, she started to groom herself as slow as possible so she could make the wait more bearable. She looked like a kittypet simply sitting here, relaxing, and not being productive, and she hated it.

After a long groom, Ash found herself unable to wait any longer. She took a glance behind her, relieved to find that there were no twolegs in sight. Before she could have any more doubts, Ash leapt off of the twoleg fence and ran, heading straight for the forest. To her relief, no twolegs noticed, or started to yowl and come after her.

When she was sitting atop the fence, she had planned out the safest route that strayed as far as possible from anything that related to twolegs. She did have to cross the path of one or two sleeping twoleg monsters and did so as carefully and quickly as possible. At last, she reached the edge of the twolegplace and the beginning of the forest, but to her dismay a huge Thunderpath lay in between. Monsters thundered by leaving an awful stench behind that made Ash want to vomit.

Ash tried to remember the time she, her littermates, and their mother had come across a Thunderpath and what they'd done to cross it.

_"Mama, what's that?" Lilac questioned from where she hid in between Lily's legs._

_"That, my dear, is a Thunderpath." Lily replied. "And we're going to have to cross it."_

_"We're gonna do what?!" Grey's fur stood up all over. "I'm not getting any closer to that thing than I already am." He sat far away from his family and the thunderpath._

_Lily whipped around to face him, her long tail nearly knocking Ash over in the process. "Well then I guess you'll have to be left behind." She snapped before turning back around._

_Grey flattened his ears against his head and stared at his mother with wide eyes. Ash padded over to him and gently licked his ear._

_"It's okay. Mama's crossing with us so we'll be fine." She told her brother._

_"You think?" He questioned with narrowed eyes._

_"I know." Ash replied. "She cares about us. It's jus'..." Ash trailed off, knowing that she was convincing herself as well as her brother with these words. "It's just hard for her sometimes with us complaining so much. She needs to be strict sometimes to get us to do what she wants and what she knows is best."_

_"Okay." Grey looked convinced and followed Ash back to where their other two littermates were lined up at the edge of the Thunderpath._

_"Alright kits." Lily mewed. "Listen and pay attention to what I say and do, for you'll be needing this when you grow older and I'm no longer here to protect you. Without me by your side, you'll need to cross Thunderpaths very often to find good prey places."_

_Her four kits nodded, their eyes wide. When a gap opened on the Thunderpath and it looked like there were no monsters left, Lily placed a white paw on the Thunderpath._

_Lilac crept forward. "What are you doing?"_

_"Feeling for vibrations." Lily replied. "When a monster is coming, there will be vibrations on the Thunderpath. When it's safe to cross, they'll either be very little vibrations, or no vibrations at all." Lily paused. "A monster is coming now."_

_The four kits crept closer to try and see if a monster was close, but saw nothing. Hesitantly, Ash placed a paw on the Thunderpath and felt strong vibrations coming from the hard stone._

_"Back!" Lily warned and she and her kits crawled backwards as a monster came out of nowhere and rushed down the Thunderpath._

_Lily paced back towards the Thunderpath and placed a paw on the stone, once more. Her kits followed her lead._

_"When I say run," Lily ordered. "I want you guys to run as fast as you can and don't stop until we're safely across."_

_The kits nodded, their eyes wide with fear, but also a small bit of excitement. Two more monsters passed before the vibrations on the Thunderpath ceased._

_Lily looked both ways before yelling, "Run!"_

_She and her kits immediately took off. Ash ran faster than she ever had in her entire life. Lily reached the edge first and reached down to pluck Dusty off of the Thunderpath as he neared her. Still racing across, Ash felt the vibrations of the Thunderpath start up again, and felt her heart beating so loud she was sure she'd scared off all the mice in the forest. She let her tail stream out behind her and pushed herself harder._

_Lily plucked Lilac off the Thunderpath and then Ash as Grey tumbled down and landed beside his mother. Lily congratulated her kits as not one, but two monsters roared past, before leading them away._

Remembering her mother's lesson from what seemed like so long ago, Ash hesitantly reached out to touch the Thunderpath. The vibrations she felt were strong so she snatched her paw away and crouched down as she watched a monster speed by, wrinkling her nose at it's awful stench. This crossing would be far more nerve racking than her first time, for this time she'd be crossing the Thunderpath by herself, with no one to help or congratulate her once she reached the other side.

Ash's heart thumped nervously in her chest and she heard it much louder than the roar of the monsters as they raced each other across the Thunderpath. She placed a shaky paw on the Thunderpath. The vibrations were not as strong as the first time, but still they signaled a monster on it's way.

After the second monster passed, the Thunderpath grew awfully quiet and Ash touched the cool, black surface once more. There were no more vibrations. Ash immediately took off and managed to make it to the other side without feeling a single vibration on the hard stone. She tumbled into the soft, natural grass on the other side. Breathing in the scent of the wild, Ash raced into the forest, not looking back as she heard the rumble of a monster as it passed on the Thunderpath behind her.

She headed straight for the stream, stopping to stare at it for a few moments, before she crouched down and hesitantly lapped at the water. It tasted so natural, better than any water Ash had ever tasted. The twolegplace water she'd drunk as both a small kitten with her mother and a kittypet didn't compare at all to the water of the stream. Ash thirstily slurped the water, until she felt she'd drank enough.

Then she turned around and slipped into the shelter of the trees to explore the forest and leave the life of a twolegplace cat behind her forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading this chapter!  
> I have a poll that you can take that will help me decide the names of the clans in "Willow"  
> This is the link: https://quotev.com/quiz/13384220/Clan-Name-Ideas


	3. Rightfully Mine

A sudden rustling in the undergrowth caused Ash to turn around. It was starting to get late and she was looking for a place to rest. A cool wind blew by, causing her to shiver as it carried a strange scent in her direction. The scent was that of another cat, only this cat smelled nothing like any of the twolegplace cats Ash had ever met.

_Maybe I'm in its territory._ Ash wondered. She knew how much the rogue twolegplace cats were possessive of their territory. Perhaps it was the same for cats living in the wild. Though Ash couldn't help but wonder why the wild cats would be possessive of such a large piece of land. _Surely there's enough prey and shelter for everyone to share._

Slowly, Ash turned in circles looking around her to see if the strange cat would show itself. When no cat did, Ash continued searching for a place to sleep. At last, after a thorough searching, she found herself staring up into the branches of a tall tree. One of the lower branches was sheltered with the leaves from a cluster of higher branches. If she tucked moss and maybe even some feathers into the place where the branch met the trunk of the tree, she'd be able to create a nice sheltered and hidden nest for her to sleep in.

Ash clawed some moss out of an old log and collected some from rocks, taking about three trips until she had enough for a good sized nest. Then, she padded back towards the stream to look for some prey to hunt. She was hoping to catch a bird so that she'd get some feathers for her nest, but as long as she had something to eat, she'd be fine.

As she neared the stream, the scent of fresh vole greeted her. She followed it to the base of a tree and looked up to see a thrush dancing on one of the lower branches of the tree. Two voles were sniffing around at it's roots. _Which should I catch?_ Ash pondered. She'd be able to catch both voles at the same time because they were so close to one another, but the bird would provide her with both prey to enjoy and feathers for her nest.

Bunching her muscles and straightening her tail, she slowly crept forward making her decision. She'd go for the bird. But just as she was preparing to leap, a brown blur passed in front of her face landing on one of the two voles, who were now starting to separate. Ash gasped as she recognized the scent of the strange cat from earlier.

The cat had sent the other vole into a frightened frenzy and it dropped it's food and headed straight towards Ash as the thrush started to fly away. Ash, still crouched and prepared to leap, quickly dropped her head and delivered a killing bite to the vole, before shooting up in the air towards the bird. Her jump was successful and she managed to catch the thrush between her two front paws. The thrush struggled from her grasp but failed in getting away from her as it tumbled back down to the forest undergrowth with her.

Landing quite clumsily, Ash quickly pinned the still struggling bird to the ground and bit down hard on it's neck. It let out a final squawk of defiance before falling still. Ash panted, catching her breath, and looked up to see a brown tabby tom with piercing blue eyes staring at her in awe. 

Ash picked up the thrush and carried it over to the vole dropping it beside her first catch. She stood over her prey and returned to tom's stare.

The tom shook his head and tried his hardest to look menacing. 

"Who do _you_ think you are?!" He growled. "You can't just come on our territory, steal our prey, and make a home here! Get out!"

Ash let out an amused snort. Whatever attempts he'd had in sounding fierce and scaring her, he'd failed at. Not looking for a fight, she picked up her prey and started to leave.

"Hey! Get back here!" The tom snarled and she could hear him unsheathe his claws and scrape them against the ground. "I told you to get out! That doesn't mean you can take _our_ prey with you." 

Ash whirled around dropping her prey at her paws. " _Your_ prey!" She snapped. "I don't recall you ever catching it. As I recall, you caught _that_ vole over there." Ash gestured with a paw towards the vole lying beside the tom. "And I caught this vole and this thrush. So I'm confused, how ever does that make it yours?!"

"Simple." The tom stared at her coolly. "You caught it on _our_ territory. That's what makes it ours."

_What kind of rule was this?_ Ash wondered. _That wasn't right! In Twolegplace, whenever we caught prey it was ours, it didn't matter if the prey was in any cat's territory. As long as we didn't stay in that cat's territory, we could keep the prey._

"That isn't fair!" Ash snapped. "I might've caught this prey on your territory, but I still caught it. And you didn't make any attempt to try and stop me. You just sat there and _watched_ me. So, why is it wrong for me to take the prey that I fairly caught, even if it's on your territory.

"Plus, how would I know that this is your territory. You did an awfully terrible job of marking it out."

The tom didn't answer. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and lunged straight for the prey beneath Ash's paws. Instinctively, Ash unsheathed her claws and lashed a paw out. It made contact with the tom's ear and he stopped suddenly and snatched his head back causing his ear to tear. He let out a yowl of pain and glared at her in surprise.

Ash stared back, daring him to try and attack her again. He did and Ash was ready. They tumbled and rolled over, just as Ash used to do with her sister and brothers in their play fighting. Only this fight was real and Ash was fighting for the prey that she'd caught and that was rightfully hers.

During the fight, the tom ripped off the collar that had become a nuisance to Ash during her exploring. It had no bell like the collars on most kittypets, otherwise she'd have a much harder time catching her prey.

"Kittypet!" The tom snarled.

"I am no _kittypet_!" Ash retorted, lunging for him once more.

The battle went on for a long time. Ash had never really trained in fighting, and it was quite obvious that this tom had many moons of experience whether it was simply playfighting with whatever littermates he might have or training. Ash was scarred and bruised all over, and she was starting to get really tired, but she kept fighting.

"Give up!" The tom pinned her down on her back.

"Never!" Ash growled. She continued to fight and slash at him but he never released her. He only stared down at her with amusement in his eyes. Eventually Ash fell limp.

The tom snorted with pleasure and relaxed his grip on Ash.

"Now trot along back to your twolegs and let me take that prey that I'm very grateful you caught for me. I'm sure your twolegs will be happy to give—"

With the last of her strength, Ash reared up and flipped him off of her. Getting to her paws, she made a dash for her prey, which was still lying where she'd left it, as the tom tumbled and rolled, stumbling to get to his paws. He stared at her surprised, as she bounded out of the clearing they fought in, with her tail held straight up in the air.

Ash quickly glanced behind her and saw the tom groaning and mumbling to himself as he picked up his vole, before slinking into the undergrowth. She raised her head and tail higher as she carried the prey she'd worked so hard to get.

Life in the wild was proving to be harder than she'd thought it would be. But at least she was no longer relying on the twolegs to do everything for her. At least she'd finally know what it was like to be free, and to fend for herself.

Ash was glad she'd won that fight. It proved her strength. It proved she would stop at nothing to gain what was rightfully hers.

_I showed him._ Ash thought happily. _I showed him what was rightfully mine._


	4. Wild Cats

The next day, Ash awoke to the sound of voices below her tree. She blinked her eyes to get used to the light of a new day and yawned. After a good stretch, she sat up and began to groom herself, listening in on the conversation of the cats mewling down below.

"And you failed to chase her off of our territory!" The deep voice of a tom cat growled. 

"W-Well, I thought she'd left after our fight." Ash heard the voice of the tom she'd fought the day before.

"Why would she?!" The new tom snarled. "You obviously didn't scare her away! If I remember your story correctly, that _kittypet_ beat you in that fight you two had."

"And she took prey from our territory!" A she-cat meowed angrily. "You let her steal our prey, Treepaw. You said she took a vole and a thrush. _You_ , on the other hand, brought the least to the clan from the hunt. A simple vole."

"S-She said she wasn't a kittypet." Treepaw, the cat Ash had fought, mumbled.

"She had a collar!" The other tom growled. "And why would you listen to a kittypet? Nothing they say is correct!"

Ash heard leaves crunch as the cats moved around under her tree.

The angry tom huffed loudly. "You're such a disappointment. I find it hard to believe that your mother, a brave warrior she was, could give me such a son as you. You can't even chase off a kittypet. A _kittypet_!"

"I miss mother..." Treepaw mumbled.

It was silent for a moment before the she-cat spoke.

"Um guys..." She started. "Do you think it's possible that this kittypet heard our whole conversation?"

Silence.

"And uh... exactly, how long do we plan on sitting under this tree?"

"Not long, Redpaw. I plan on chasing out that _kittypet_ myself. I have to show that sorry excuse for a warrior how to properly be a clan cat." The tom grunted.

"She'll have to come down out of that tree for food, won't she?" Redpaw mused. "Let's not waste our strength climbing the tree and chasing her down. We can surprise her and fight her off once she reaches the ground."

"You are a brave young cat, Redpaw, and you'll grow into a fine young warrior. You have great planning skills just like _Hazelfall…_ " The tom grew silent, remembering the cat that must've once been his mate.

Ash suddenly heard her belly growl. Those cats had been right. She was starting to get hungry and she really needed to stretch her legs. Standing up, she looked around her. The leaves from the branches of the trees had provided good shelter for her and from the way the leaves around her nest clustered together, she could tell the strange warrior clan cats couldn't see her.

Slowly, she crept along the branch she was on. A whistling noise from not too far away startled her and she glanced around to see where it came from. A bird was dancing and singing on a branch on a tree beside Ash's. The branch was close to Ash's tree and just a little bit higher than Ash's branch. If she made the jump carefully and precisely enough, Ash knew she'd be able to catch the bird.

_Silly strange cats._ Ash thought to herself. _They must be strange if they believe the only way a cat can hunt is from the ground._

Sticking her tail out for balance, Ash crouched down and cautiously crawled along the branch. 

_I won't have shelter once I reach the edge and make my leap._ Ash pondered. _So I'll have to be quick but still careful._

Reaching the edge of the branch, it bounced dangerously underneath her weight. Ash took a deep breath. She focused on her target. Bunching her muscles, she made her leap, praying to no one in particular that she'd reach the other branch safely and make her kill.

The bird, a sparrow, had it's back turned to her and still hadn't noticed her. The wind was blowing in her direction, which was good.

Suddenly the bird turned around. It's beady eyes widened and it squawked in terror, it's beautiful song coming to an end. It tried to fly away, but Ash landed before it could make it's move, pinning it's tail feathers down with her unsheathed claws. The branch was swinging precariously underneath her and she knew she had to be quick, or the branch would break and she'd fall.

The sparrow was still squirming around and Ash dipped her head to put an end to that. Grabbing her prey between her jaws, she jumped back into her tree and crept back into the shelter of the leaves. Curling up in her nest, she settled down to enjoy her meal glad she'd been able to accomplish stretching her legs while catching her prey.

The undergrowth was silent below her.

_Had the cats left?_ Ash wondered. But that wasn't right, they'd wanted to chase her out. _Wait... Did they see my catch?_

As an answer to her question, the she-cat, Redpaw, broke the silence.

"Did you see that?!" Redpaw gasped. "There's no way that was the kittypet Treepaw fought. Maybe she's already gone and this cat up here is a rogue."

"Nope. Same cat." Treepaw mumbled. "I told you she was different."

_Was that admiration in their voices?_ Ash perked her ears as she listened to their conversation.

"Are you _sure_? A kittypet could never make that leap. They'd be way too frightened to even consider it." Redpaw argued.

"Don't you think I know a cat I fought when I see her?" Treepaw snapped.

"No." Redpaw and the other tom answered at once.

"You didn't recognize Littlewhisker at the Gathering. I saw you and him fighting in the recent skirmish over territories." Redpaw elaborated. 

"This is different." Treepaw protested.

"No, it really isn't." The other tom growled. "Either way, rouge or kittypet, neither belong in our territory and we need to chase her out. She's obviously been listening in on our conversation and there's no point in waiting for her to come down the tree."

"That means we'll have to climb the tree and chase her down." Redpaw sighed. "Which might be a little hard. We all saw the way she made that leap."

"We'll find a way. We're clan cats, she's a rogue. We're better than her anyways." The tom grunted. "Redpaw follow me, Treepaw stay where you are. We don't need help from _you_."

"But Stoneclaw—" Treepaw sounded hurt. He quickly silenced and Ash could hear the leaves crunching as he sat down.

Quickly finishing her sparrow, Ash stood up and peered down. The tom, who must've been called Stoneclaw, had dark brown fur and gleaming amber eyes. An ear was torn and a scar ran from his right eye to his upper lip. The she-cat, Redpaw, was younger and smaller with long russet colored fur.

The two started to climb the tree. Ash noticed Treepaw sitting at the base muttering underneath his breath. He glanced up and caught her eye, glaring.

"She knows you're coming up!" He yowled.

"We know that already mouse-brain!" Redpaw called back to him. "We're not _dumb_ cats like you!" 

Treepaw turned his glare to Redpaw, his fur bristling. He parted his jaws to say something but Stoneclaw silenced him with an intimidating look. Treepaw groaned and turned away as Stoneclaw leapt onto a branch. Redpaw leaped after him and Stoneclaw helped her steady herself.

Ash had chosen to sleep on one of the lower branches of the tree and she knew it wouldn't be long before the two strange wild cats reached her. She crouched down in a battling position, her eyes narrowed in the direction she knew the wild cats would approach her at. She had her back to the trunk of the tree, her tail slowly lashing back and forth.

Sure enough, Stoneclaw leaped straight onto her branch with Redpaw following shortly after. Both of them looked surprised to see Ash crouched there, waiting for them. Stoneclaw studied her, making her nervous as his amber eyes flickered across her pelt. He looked around at her clever shelter and her nest, before Redpaw broke the creepy silence.

"Are you a kittypet?" She questioned, her head tilted to one side. "Or a rogue? Or are you a loner?"

Ash didn't answer, she only stared back at Redpaw, coolly meeting the she-cat's gaze. She looked about Ash's age, but maybe a bit older. She flicked her long-furred ears, waiting for an answer. She sighed once realizing she wasn't going to get one.

"She's a kittypet, of course." Stoneclaw spoke. "Treepaw showed us her collar. And look at her neck. Can't you see how it's matted down in the area where the collar once wrapped around."

Stoneclaw approached her slowly, the branch dipping under his weight. It wouldn't be strong enough to hold all three of them. Redpaw must've noticed this as she leaped down to a branch just under Ash's branch, snarling up at her. Stoneclaw continued to creep towards Ash, who stood her ground, eyes narrowed. She felt her pelt bristling and she bared her teeth at him.

_What am I going to do?_ She thought desperately. She glanced in front of her at Stoneclaw and then let her gaze drop to Redpaw and even further to Treepaw. _I'm terribly outnumbered. I can't fight all of them at once._

Stoneclaw was staring at her unblinking. "Leave now kittypet. Go back to your twolegs and we won't have to hurt you."

Ash didn't move. Instead she held his gaze with her own. _I can't run, if I do, then they'll have won. If I run, I'll only prove to them that I'm a helpless kittypet. I'll only prove to myself that I'm not capable of living in the wild, that I can't fend for myself. That I can't protect what is mine. That I can't live free. That I have to depend on twolegs to help me figure out my life._

_No._ Ash would not run. She'd stand her ground. 

Ash could feel a growl rumbling in her throat as she glared at the brown tom standing in front of her. His eyes widened in surprise and he paced backwards. His paws slipped as he wasn't looking where he was going and he stumbled as he tried to regain his balance. Ash twitched her whiskers, amused.

"You want to do this the hard way." Stoneclaw paced forward, cautiously this time, and shoved his muzzle in her face. "We'll do this the hard way."

Ash snapped at him and he jerked his head back. There was no way Ash could fight off all three cats. And she also couldn't retreat as Redpaw glared up at her from the branch below hers and Treepaw paced down below. There was only one chance Ash had of beating them and proving to these wild cats that she was anything but a kittypet.

Without thinking twice, Ash shot up the tree, leaping from branch to branch faster than she'd done before. The wild cats gasped and hurried to catch up to her, slipping and stumbling as they tried to match her speed. Ash didn't stop. She quickly wove around the tree, glancing to the side of her, watching for a tree she could jump to.

She stopped on a high-up branch and quickly glanced below her. Redpaw and Stoneclaw were struggling as they tried to reach her, but they wouldn't give up and Ash knew it was only a matter of time before they caught up to her.

She nimbly raced to the edge of the branch and leapt to the next tree. As she landed, the new branch swung precariously below her, and she thought she heard a creak. She jumped to the branch above it and moved towards the base of the tree, just as the other branch cracked and fell.

"Ow!"

Ash looked down to see that the branch had landed on Treepaw's head. Ash stared across at the other tree, to see that Stoneclaw and Redpaw had stopped their chase and were staring at her with a mix of horror and admiration.

Ash sat down on her branch, her tail hanging down and waving slightly. A purr rose in her throat and she did nothing to hold it in. She tilted her head to one side, blinking innocently at the wild cats.

"Do you still believe that I am a _kittypet_?" She questioned, amused by their stunned gazes they didn't even try to hide.


	5. Clans

Ash narrowed her eyes and watched as Redpaw and Stoneclaw chatted on the tree next to hers. They had given up their chase and were sitting on the same branch while Treepaw paced impatiently on the forest floor. 

_Perhaps I can make a run for it._ Ash thought. The tree Ash now sat on provided much less shelter than the first tree. An escape wouldn't be easy with less cover but all three wild cats seemed much too preoccupied to pay any attention to her. Even Treepaw was now staring intently at something in the undergrowth, his nose and tail twitching. 

Slowly Ash turned and crept closer to the base of the tree. Bunching her muscles, she leaped smoothly to a branch diagonally below the branch she was on before. The branch shook a little and Ash quickly glanced back to see if the wild cats had noticed. Redpaw and Stoneclaw were still deep in conversation and Treepaw had pounced on whatever he was stalking.

Relieved Ash turned around. Gathering her legs underneath her, she prepared herself to make another leap. But just as she was about to jump, a voice called out behind her, stopping her.

"Wait!"

Ash recognized it as Redpaw's high pitched meow. She stiffened and feeling the fur rise on her back, she turned around. There was no point in running now. Treepaw was staring up at her from where he now stood at the roots of the tree she'd perched on, a mouse hanging from his jaws. If she continued to leap from tree to tree, she'd grow tired and Treepaw would have an easy time catching up to her from the forest ground.

"What do you want?" She spat glaring at Redpaw and Stoneclaw with strong distrust in her eyes.

Stoneclaw slowly stood on the branch he'd settled on beside Redpaw. He started to creep forward until Ash let out a threatening hiss, causing him to stop. Redpaw crouched behind him.

"You are a brave cat." Stoneclaw began. "I can see the evidence around your neck where you might have been a kittypet in the past. I know from stories and encounters that kittypets are soft, mouse-brained balls of fluff who don't do anything but lie around all day. Tell me, were you always a kittypet?"

Ash just stared at him. Was he really trying to start a conversation with her? And just after they'd tried to chase her out? He must be even more mouse-brained than a kittypet if he thought Ash would trust him after everything that had happened. Stoneclaw and Redpaw still sat with their tails hanging down, waiting for her answer.

Glancing down, Ash noticed a flash of white fur moving through the trees. Treepaw darted away from the tree and moved towards it. A white she-cat with unusually shaped sky blue eyes that glistened like pools of water padded out to greet him. She gazed curiously up at Ash as Treepaw started to speak to her.

Ash glanced back at Stoneclaw. Perhaps she could get this over with quickly. With another cat on the wild cat's side, she knew more than ever that she stood no chance of fighting back. She wouldn't be able to escape easily either. Maybe she'd be able to trick them like she'd tricked the twolegs.

"No I wasn't." Ash snapped. "I was _never_ a kittypet."

"Your collar states otherwise." Redpaw pointed out.

Ash glared at her. "That collar tells you nothing but _lies_!"

Stoneclaw snorted in amusement. "You are feisty. What is your name little one?"

Ash stared at him bewildered. Did he seriously think she would tell him her name after all that had happened. If he did, he needed to reconsider calling kittypets mouse-brained balls of fluff since he was acting like a mouse-brained ball of fluff himself.

The white she-cat started to make her way up the tree that Ash was on while Treepaw returned to his spot on the roots. Ash bristled as she neared and Stoneclaw narrowed his eyes at her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. "Shouldn't you be at home with your kits?"

"Echoleaf's watching them for me." The white she-cat replied, gracefully leaping onto Ash's branch. "Plus I needed to take a walk. In case you haven't noticed, kits are a lot of work."

Ash felt a growl rise in her throat as the she-cat turned to her.

"Look," The she-cat meowed gently. "I know you don't trust us and you have many reasons not to. After all, my clanmates weren't exactly the kindest towards you when you first met them. They attacked you and tried to chase you out.

"But you are brave. You stood your ground and proved to them how wrong they were about you. You are strong and agile. But _we_ are many."

"We have an offer for you." Redpaw meowed from her branch. "We'd like you to join our group. We don't come across many cats like you in the forest. They mostly cower and run away timidly when they see us. But you are different. You fight back and stand your ground."

Ash stared at the two she-cats with uncertainty. Was this all a trick? And why would she even want to join this strange group of wild cats?

"There are other groups of cats that live here." The she-cat crept closer to Ash until she was sitting directly in front of her. Ash shifted her paws uneasily. "They won't give you the same offer. They'll be hostile towards you and they'll chase you out. We'll have to do that too if you don't accept our offer.

"It's better to have allies than more enemies than any cat would be able to handle alone, isn't it?" The she-cat stared into her eyes, blinking comfortingly. "I'll let you think about it. It's your decision after all. And we won't rush you." She touched Ash's ear tip with her nose before backing away and joining Redpaw on her branch.

Ash considered the she-cat and Redpaw's words. The only group of cats she'd ever lived in could hardly be considered as a group of cats, because it only consisted of her mother and littermates. She wouldn't be used to being around other cats especially as these cats would be unfamiliar and unrelated to her. Why should she care and hunt for cats she didn't even know?

But Ash also didn't want trouble from other cats who obviously knew much more about fighting than she did. The she-cat had said that other cats would be more hostile. Ash wondered if these cats trained to fight and almost fought against each other.

She also recalled Treepaw's argument with Redpaw and Stoneclaw earlier. Redpaw had mentioned a skirmish over territory. Treepaw had also fought her over the prey she'd caught the day before. If wild cats fought over little things like that, she wondered how they'd react to her, a loner, in their territory, hunting the prey in that land.

The she-cat had told her it was better to have allies than enemies. Ash knew that well as it was a lesson her mother, Lily, had told her and her littermates often. But Ash could protect herself, she'd proved that. She didn't need allies or enemies. But the she-cat had made it very clear that if she'd refused their offer, they'd become her enemies. Ash would have no one to turn to.

It wouldn't hurt to have some allies. And Ash had to admit that it would be much, much easier to care for herself if others would to. If she lived in a group, there would be more cats to hunt for prey and heal wounds, but there'd also be more cats to feed and care for.

These cats did know how to fight. Maybe they'd teach her. As a group they seemed to survive in the wild well and protect what was theirs in order to feed their groups. Ash predicted they'd have to battle other cats sometimes, and she knew it would be much safer to fight someone when you were skilled in that area and when you had other cats with you to provide their help. 

Living in a group would provide many benefits for Ash.

_If I decide to go with them,_ Ash thought. _I won't just be hunting for myself, but for other cats as well. But I'd be safer there. Safer from other cats and any other animals like dogs, who consider me their prey or just want to kidnap or kill me for the fun of it. A group could chase off enemies and predators better than I'd be able to do myself._

Ash recalled how much easier it was for her when she'd lived with her mother and her littermates. It was true that she didn't know these cats, but much evidence as well as her own instincts made it clear that this was the only way she could truly live in the wild. On her own, she might have a chance to survive, but in a group, there was more of a chance she'd be able to live and have fun in all the ways she wanted in the wild.

She'd made her decision.

The she-cat noticed the new certainty in Ash's gaze and leaped back onto the branch to join Ash.

"Have you made your decision, young one?"

Ash raised her head to look the she-cat directly in her eyes.

"Yes." She meowed. "I'd like to join you and your group."

"Awesome!" The she-cat purred, her identical blue eyes shining. "Welcome to the Clans!"


	6. Three Tests

Ash sat uncomfortably near the entrance of the camp, her tail flicking nervously. Was it a good idea that she'd decided to come here? Treepaw had dipposited his mouse on a growing pile of prey and a small pale tabby kitten immediately picked it up, dragging it back to where her mother lay in the shade of a bramble bush.

Looking closer, Ash noticed a bunch of brambles woven together to create a kind of den. As she watched, a cream tom kit joined the mother and tabby she-kit. The mother gently split the prey up between her kits and took a bite herself. She was a white she-cat with brown markings on her head, down her back, and a bushy brown striped tail. She gazed at her kits with loving eyes.

"That's the nursery." Redpaw murmured, following Ash's gaze.

All eyes were slowly turning in the direction of Ash. Six kits stopped wrestling with each other to creep closer. The blue-eyed she-cat, Ash had traveled with to get to the camp, rushed forward and nuzzled each in turn.

_Those must be her litter._ Ash thought as the she-kit dipped her head to the other mother, who was now gently cleaning the pale tabby kit's pelt. _And that must be Echoleaf_.

Stoneclaw had disappeared into a den underneath a strange bolder that rose straight before curving to one side over a cluster of bramble bushes. The bushes had been woven to create a den big enough for one cat.

Stoneclaw exited the den and crossed over to a dark grey cat with yellow eyes. "Where's Lilystar?"

_Lilystar? Lily... Was it possible?..._ Ash shook her head. That was only wishful thinking. Her mother had always been a solitary cat, even with kits around. She probably still lived in twolegplace. Why would she even consider joining a group?

The yellow eyed tom glanced at Ash as he spoke. "She's on a hunting patrol." He meowed. "They just left."

"Mama?" A small white kit with the same sky blue eyes as her mother stared at Ash. "Who's that?"

"Yeah, and why is she here?" Another kit asked. He was grey with white splotches and round green eyes.

The blue eyed mother beckoned her litter closer to Ash.

"I don't remember introducing myself to you." The she-cat meowed.

"I'm Ash." Ash told her.

"I'm called Skypool." The she-cat purred. "And these are my kits."

"Six? That's a lot of kits."

"Yes, I know." Skypool sighed. "You can see now why I needed a break, don't you?"

Ash nodded as Stoneclaw padded back in their direction with the yellow eyed tom following close behind. Noticing the scars that marked his flanks, Ash wondered if he'd been a part of many battles. 

As they approached her, two more cats emerged from the gorse tunnel that was the entrance to the camp. They carried bundles of leaves in their jaws. Shooting curious looks her way, they disappeared into a small cave a few mouse-lengths beside the bramble den underneath the rock.

"They're medicine cats." Redpaw explained. "Our clan healers."

_So not every cat learns to heal?_ Ash wondered. In twolegplace, where it was mostly every cat for themselves, kits were taught basic healing at about two moons of age. The clans obviously did things much differently than anything Ash had ever heard of. She wondered if she'd ever get used to the way of the clans.

"So you're Ash?" The yellow eyed tom questioned. 

Ash dipped her head.

"Our leader isn't here now and she must agree to the offer our deputy has given you before you are allowed into the clan. Knowing my sister well, she won't just accept any cat without reason." He meowed.

Stoneclaw nodded his agreement. "You'll have to prove yourself, again. With proof from some other respected clanmates, Lilystar might just let you into the clans. Our clan isn't as big as it once was, you see, so you're coming is something that can help us grow into a fine clan once more."

"We can only hope my sister will see the reason in letting you come here. Two of our finest warriors, Hazelfall and Bluefang, have gone to join our ancestors. And two of our apprentices, Cloverpaw and Mousepaw, are lost. Skirmishes between other clans are slowly turning into battles over territories. It'll be good to have another cat to fight beside, especially with all this loss." The yellow eyed tom grunted.

_So much death. Do I really want to be here?_ Ash wondered. She also noted how the yellow eyed tom referred to the leader, Lilystar as his sister. _I don't think this Lilystar is the same Lily. Lily's littermates are all dead._ Ash questioned why she wanted this _Lilystar_ to be her mother. After all, Ash felt that Lily hadn't been the most kindest and thoughtful of mothers. Or the most loving. 

"I'm Rainfur, by the way." Ash noticed the darker dapples of grey on his lighter colored coat, that looked like drops of rain on the ground. "We will have to test you, Ash."

Stoneclaw nodded and started calling out the names of a couple of other cats. They gathered around him and Rainfur. Skypool padded forward to touch noses with Ash, as if they were long time friends.

"Good luck." She whispered before gathering her kits around her and disappearing into the nursery.

"C'mon." Stoneclaw led the way out of the camp and back out into the forest.

Ash found herself in the back, side by side with Rainfur. She would be able to keep up with the other cats, but she was still hesitant about her decision to join the clans.

In front of her was Stoneclaw in the lead and two other cats. One of them was a long-legged all black she-cat who kept pacing forward a few steps before waiting for the others to catch up. The other was a brown and white tom who seemed lost in thought. They entered a small clearing in the trees and Stoneclaw turned to face her.

"You're first task is to hunt."

Ash narrowed her eyes. Hadn't he already seen how well she could hunt?

"When you're done with your hunt, come back here and present us your prey." Stoneclaw told her.

"You may go now." Rainfur nodded his head, dismissing her.

Ash slunk away into the trees. Her jaws slightly parted, she crept forward scanning the unfamiliar territory for any sign of movement that would hint prey was nearby. Her ears flicked as leaves crunched behind her and her tail twitched irritably as a startled blackbird cawed, flying away.

_So they're watching me._ Ash thought. _Well, they need to do a better job at creeping, otherwise they'll scare off all the noise in the forest._

Sighing, Ash padded forward again. Her nose twitching as she picked up the scent of a squirrel. Doing her best to stay hidden in the shadow of the trees, she padded through the undergrowth until she caught sight of the creature. It was at the base of a tall tree, collecting nuts to bury at its roots. It wouldn't be long before it finished.

Keeping downwind of the squirrel, Ash paced forward. The squirrel took no notice of her even as a bird cawed from somewhere above them. Bunching her muscles, Ash leaped the short distance, pinning the squirrel beneath her paws and killing it with a quick bite. She quickly pushed it underneath a gorse bush for her to come back and get it later.

Looking up she spotted an arrogant looking finch dancing on a branch a few tail-lengths above her. Clawing at the bark, she crawled up the tree, until she found a sturdy branch and climbed on it. From here, she jumped from branch to branch until she was close enough, but still downwind to the dancing bird. 

Bunching her muscles, she narrowed her eyes, focusing on her target. She breathed deeply before leaping, landing just short of her target, and stumbling to regain her balance. The finch let out a frightened caw and fluttered away, landing on a branch a tree away. Regaining it's proud composure, it puffed it's chest out and danced tauntingly.

Undaunted, Ash decided to not waste her time on that bird. A rustle in the bushes below had caught her attention. Creeping around the tree, Ash bounced down to a lower branch to see a grey and white rabbit sniffing around. If she made her leap from just the right angle, she might be able to land squarely on top of the prey.

She narrowed her eyes as the rabbit stuffed berries into its mouth, fluffy tail twitching excitedly. The plump rabbit would surely make up for the finch she'd failed to catch.

Suddenly the finch let out a loud squawk and the rabbit looked up. But Ash had already jumped. Terrified, the rabbit started to hop away but before it could make its first leap, two paws pinned it down. Ash quickly nipped it's spine as it struggled beneath her, wriggling under her grasp. It fell limp and Ash picked it up to place it by the squirrel glancing up at the finch as it stopped dancing and flew away in terror.

When Ash returned from her hunt, she brought with her the squirrel, the rabbit, and a starling she'd managed to catch in the way she'd failed to catch the prideful finch. This time, she'd measured the distance correctly and landed balanced with one paw pinning the starling down.

When she reentered the clearing, all the other cats were staring at her in awe. As Ash caught the black she-cat's eye, she dipped her head to lick her chest fur, embarrassed. She must've been the one to noisily crunch the leaves as she followed Ash. The others nodded their heads, approvingly.

"It was good how you corrected your mistake after you failed to catch the finch. Skypool's kits love starling. I'm pretty sure they'll adore your catch." The brown and white tom murmured thoughtfully.

"I noticed you seem pretty comfortable in trees. The squirrel catch was not bad but the way you caught that rabbit was incredible, especially with the finch calling out the way it did." Rainfur muttered. "Arrogant bird."

"Yes, you're hunting techniques are quite admirable, but I'm not sure if any of us could ever learn hunting like that." The black she-cat commented. "But Stoneclaw tells us you're from twolegplace so I can see where your hunting skills come from. The grounds aren't the safest there, but there's plenty strange twoleg things to jump on."

Stoneclaw nodded. "Those skills will help you a lot here in the forest." He meowed. "But now it's time for your second test. Fighting."

Ash found herself shifting uncomfortably. She wasn't the best at fighting and Rainfur was right, she was more comfortable in trees. These clan cats, on the other paw, didn't seem too interested in tree climbing, hunting, or fighting. They were much better on the ground, a skill Ash did not have.

She hated the idea of fighting any cat at all. But with so much territory, she suspected peace wasn't something these cats really enjoyed. And before the testing had begun, Rainfur had mentioned cats called Hazelfall, Bluefang, Cloverpaw, and Mousepaw. Whatever had happened to those cats, Ash wasn't sure she wanted to know. And if it had to do with a fight...,

Ash wondered if her decision to join the clans was the right one. Would she ever belong here?

Stoneclaw muttered something to the brown-and-white tom who dashed off in the direction of the camp, before turning back to Ash.

"You'll fight Redpaw." He told her. "Claws will be sheathed. Remember, this is a test so don't kill anyone."

Ash nodded, shifting nervously. She never had to fight anyone in twolegplace and her first real fight with Treepaw was such a close call, Ash had no idea how she'd do on this test fight. And all these cats she knew nothing about would be watching her. Ash wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Redpaw arrived with the brown and white tom at her heels. The brown and white tom, black she-cat, Rainfur, and Stoneclaw disappeared into the shelter of the trees to give them space, though this only made Ash more nervous.

Ash and Redpaw circled each other, paws sheathed, waiting for the other to attack. Ash's ears twitched and her eyes darted around, watching Redpaw's muscles as they flexed and studying her every move. She anticipated as Redpaw darted forward to aim a blow at Ash's muzzle and moved out of the way to block it, before darting in to instinctively swipe at Redpaw's legs.

Ash was fighting with only her instinct, while Redpaw used instinct and training. But Ash could tell Redpaw wasn't too experienced with training, but with the little to none training ratio, Redpaw had a greater chance at winning.

Redpaw fell from the blow and Ash took that chance to nip at her ear. In a real battle, she would've bitten harder, tearing the flesh. Redpaw swiped at her from the ground and Ash pinned Redpaw down, aiming blows at her back. Redpaw turned underneath her and kicked up with her hind paws at Ash's belly fur. Ash winced loosening her grip giving Redpaw the ability to squirm out of Ash's grasp and stumble to her paws.

They continued to attack each other, but eventually Ash found herself pinned underneath Redpaw, the more experienced she-cat proving her skill. Ash's struggles seemed to put Redpaw in a bit of pain, but Redpaw seemed intent on holding her down, until she gave in. So Ash did what she'd done with Treepaw in her first battle, she fell limp.

Staring up at Redpaw, she saw her opponent's eyes glisten in surprise. But Redpaw kept Ash pinned for a moment longer, before finally loosening her grip. Redpaw turned and started to pad away calling to the other cats. Ash didn't hesitate before leaping up and tackling Redpaw, her paws curling into the russet she-cat's back.

Redpaw tried to struggle but this time, although she was very tired, Ash managed to not lose her grip. Her ears pricked as leaves crunched, signaling the return of the older cats.

"Alright, that's enough you two." Rainfur meowed. "My sister should be at camp by now, so we should head back."

Stoneclaw nodded at Ash. "You did well, young one. But you still have plenty of work to do in fighting, that is."

"But your hunting skills are incredible!" The black she-cat exclaimed. 

"Any warrior could teach you to fight." The brown and white tom meowed. "But no one of us knows how to hunt like that. There's no reason Lilystar shouldn't let you into the clan."

The journey back to the camp was silent and quick as all of the cats were eager to find out what Lilystar would say and do. Little did Ash know that another test would be awaiting her once she got there.

They return to the camp and Skypool greets her nervously. "How'd it go?" She asks as Rainfur and Stoneclaw hurry to the bramble den underneath the curved rock to seek out Lilystar.

'"She's an awesome hunter!" The brown and white tom purred.

"And she's not too bad of a fighter." The black she-cat reported. "She needs some work on her technique but that can be expected. I don't think she's really ever been in a fight in her life."

Stoneclaw emerges from the den, Rainfur right behind him. Another cat follows close at their tails. 

_Lilystar... why does she look so familiar._ Ash narrowed her eyes at the leader of the clan, studying her. She was a brown tabby, with a white muzzle, white stripe down her nose, white chest and belly fur, and four white paws. Her leafy green eyes looked just like Ash's own. Her pelt reminded Ash so much of _Lily_.

_She's Lily. She has to be._ Ash thought. _But why did Rainfur keep calling her sister. Lily's littermates are all dead._

Ash felt eyes burning into her pelt. She looked up to see the familiar eyes of her mother staring into her own. Her heart beat in her chest expecting her mother to be pleased and happy at finding her daughter. But when she met her mother's gaze, she saw a fierce coldness and disbelief, as well as strong distaste. Lily was not at all pleased to see her daughter. She wished that Ash had never showed up, knowing that Ash's appearance in the clans could ruin her high position.

What better cat to unlock all her secrets than her own daughter. Lilystar stared at her daughter with disgust and distrust, but quickly hid it away as her clan was all awaiting her decision.

"She can join the clan." Lilystar meowed, keeping her voice neutral.

The clan erupted in cheers as warriors and apprentices gathered around Ash congratulating her.

But Ash continued to remember the look her mother had given her, the complete opposite she'd expected, as her mother turned and padded away.

Why was her mother so cold? Wasn't she pleased to see her daughter again? Questions swam in Ash's head and she tried to push them away.

This third test was proving to be harder than the first two. Ash wondered what she'd done to lose her mother's trust and what she could ever do to regain it.


	7. Dreams

A moon had passed since Ash had first joined OakClan. Her name had been changed to _Ashpaw_ , though she still wasn't sure how she felt about that and had no idea when she'd get used to being called that. She'd befriended a long-legged black and white apprentice called Spiderpaw, became close friends with Skypool, and often shared training exercises with Redpaw. She had become apprenticed to the brown and white tom, Ambereye, who had helped test her on her first day at the camp.

Her best friend happened to be the medicine cat apprentice, Brightpaw. She was easy to talk to at the end of a long day of hunting and training, and seemed to always know what to say when Ashpaw felt left out because of her new clanmates' constant boasting about clan roots and being clan born. Especially Treepaw, he seemed to love to rub it in her face that she was not clan born and tried his best to exclude her from any apprentice activities. Sometimes he succeeded. But by now Ashpaw was more than happy to accompany the medicine cats as they collected herbs for a nice talk with Brightpaw.

Ashpaw's relationship with Lilystar wasn't going anywhere. In fact, it seemed Lilystar wanted their relationship to stay the way it was. Ashpaw never gave up trying her hardest to fit into the clan and exceed all her mentor's expectations, but nothing seemed to please her mother. A few days ago, Lilystar had decided to watch the apprentice training, but she only listened to Ashpaw's report with narrowed eyes, showing no signs of expression.

Now, Lilystar stood with a bunch of cats gathered around her. She scanned the clearing as she waited for more cats to come to her. They were going to a special place where all the clan's territories met. They were to meet with the other clans at a special peace meeting called the _Gathering_.

Lilystar had already selected cats for the gathering, and Ashpaw wasn't one of the ones chosen. Lilystar claimed it was because Ashpaw had only spent one moon at the camp, and that if situations were different Lilystar would've allowed Ashpaw to go to the gathering. But Ashpaw knew that wasn't true, she suspected Lilystar didn't trust her. The reasoning still remained unknown.

From where she sat outside the apprentice den, Ashpaw watched the cats leave for the Gathering. Brightpaw, Spiderpaw, and Redpaw had left and so had Ambereye. Skypool was already asleep in the nursery with her kits. Treepaw stormed out of the apprentice den just as the last of the Gathering cats left.

"Why do I have to be stuck here with you?!" Treepaw grumbled. "I'm not a new apprentice and I'm also Clan born. I should be leaving with them!"

_According to what Spiderpaw told me, the whole clan doesn't go to a gathering, only a selected few who the leader chooses. And not everyone goes every time, unless you're the leader, deputy, or medicine cat. And even then, the leader, deputy, or medicine cat, gets sick or has to stay behind for some reason and they can't go._ Ash thought.

_Why does Treepaw think he's so special?_

"Are you ignoring me?!" 

Ashpaw flicked her ears, annoyed. "What do you want me to say? You didn't ask a question and I couldn't tell whether or not you were trying to start a conversation."

"Well I was!" Treepaw mutters. "Why do I even waste my time on you? You're not clan born."

"How do you know all clan cats are clan born?" Ashpaw questioned, thinking of her mother.

Treepaw glanced at her in shock. "What, you think we take in other rogues and loners like you?"

Ashpaw tilted her head to one side as she waited for an answer to _her_ question, but Treepaw didn't give her a response.

"Why do you hate me?"

"I-I... hate you?" Treepaw's eyes widened in surprise. "I never said that."

"No, but you imply it." Ashpaw elaborated. "Everything you do. Everything you say to me. If it's not hate, it's a strong dislike."

Treepaw looked down. "I just want Father to like me." He muttered.

_I don't think he wanted me to hear that._ Ash pondered as Treepaw turned again to face her. _I'll just pretend I didn't... for now...._

Treepaw stretched and yawned. "Well, I'm going to sleep. See ya in the morning."

Ashpaw noticed the change in his tone of voice. He seemed to be trying to be more friendly towards her and Ashpaw was glad she'd had this talk with him even though it was short and a lot of details were left out. Ashpaw had known Stoneclaw was Treepaw's father, but she'd also thought they had a normal kin relationship. Perhaps their relationship was similar to Ashpaw's relationship with her mother, but it could also be very, very different.

Ashpaw turned and headed towards her nest in the apprentice den. Snuggling deeper into the soft moss, she closed her eyes and sank into a peaceful sleep. She dreamed she was hunting in familiar territory. Then she realized she was at the edge of twolegplace. Perhaps this was a memory.

Ashpaw cornered the rabbit, it would be a perfect catch, the rabbit would never scent her, but as she leaped, the rabbit dashed away. Maybe she no longer had her twolegplace hunting skills now that she was a clan cat. But she soon realized that was not the case, and perhaps in this dream, she wasn't meant to catch the prey. Normally in her hunting dreams, she'd still feel the thrill of a catch, even if she didn't get to eat it later. This dream was different.

Although she knew she'd probably never catch the prey in her dreams, something made Ashpaw keep trying. Perhaps it was instinct.

The rabbit bounded deeper into the forest. Ashpaw followed it, barely noticing as it led her out of twolegplace and into the forest. Not realizing as it led her to the outskirts of clan territory. Finally noticing when she arrived in the unclaimed territories. The rabbit had disappeared. It had led her here. But why?

Ashpaw padded through the strange territory, somehow knowing where to go, yet not knowing where she was and what her destination would be. She found herself in a small clearing in the center of some bramble bushes with a tiny fresh-kill pile in the center. 

_Is this another clan?_ She wondered.

She noticed four small bodies of kits sleeping in a nest under one of the bramble bushes, snuggling together to keep each other warm. _What are they doing here all alone? Where is their mother?_

The dream answered her questions as a golden she-cat with green eyes stepped out of the undergrowth, dragging a large rabbit behind her. Ashpaw immediately recognized it as the rabbit she'd been chasing earlier. The she-cat dropped the rabbit on top of the prey pile and ducked under the bramble bush to check on the sleeping litter of kits.

The she-cat then returned into the open and tilted her head back to look up at the stars.

"Oh StarClan." She whispered, "Please help us." She closed her eyes as a star shot across the sky, leaving a fading streak behind.

She opened her eyes suddenly and turned her gaze to Ashpaw. Ashpaw took a surprised step back when she realized the cat could see her.

"W-Who are you?" She asked. "D-Did StarClan send you?"

Ashpaw didn't know how to respond and she felt herself fading away. She barely heard the she-cat speak to her.

Ashpaw blinked her eyes open just as dawn light creeped into the openings in the den roof.

Ashpaw felt Redpaw stir beside her. She'd missed the cats returning from the Gathering. Treepaw brushed past her on his way out and Ashpaw stood to stretch before following, the dream still lingering in her mind. As she exited, Ambereye called her over to the center of camp where a few cats were already gathering around Stoneclaw.

"Stoneclaw would like us to go on a hunting patrol with Hollyheart and Spiderpaw." Ambereye informed her. Hollyheart was the long-legged black she-cat that had helped to test Ashpaw when she first met the clan cats, and Spiderpaw was her apprentice.

"Okay." Ashpaw responded following him as he padded to the entrance to wait for Hollyheart who was getting Spiderpaw.

Spiderpaw padded sleepily out of the den, stretching each long limb in turn and flexing his paws. As he yawned, he purposely showed off his needle sharp teeth as Hollyheart playfully cuffed his ear. The two joined Ashpaw and Ambereye and the patrol headed out into the territory. As they walked towards a familiar hunting clearing, Spiderpaw told Ashpaw all about the gathering.

"Lilystar talked about you."

"Did she?"

"Yeah, and I honestly thought there would be tons of outbursts from the other clans, but to my surprise, there were only a few. The other leaders didn't even look one bit surprised."

"Why should they?" Ashpaw wondered, though she already knew the answer. She wasn't _clanborn_.

Spiderpaw shifted uneasily. "Sorry, it's just you're not clanborn. We don't normally let rogues or loners join us, you know. Though I'm afraid Treepaw's made that clear enough."

"Oh yeah, he certainly did. But I think he'll stop now. I talked to him after you all left. He told me he didn't mean to come off as mean."

"Oh really." Spiderpaw snorted. "He probably only said that to get you off his tail. Trust me, I've known him since he was a kit."

"Oh, Okay then." Ashpaw murmured half-unbelieving. A part of her wished Treepaw would really stop, but then again, he'd been mean to her ever since they'd met. And his first fight with her seemed to ruin his reputation a bit as clan cats were supposedly better at other cats at _everything_. The others seemed to admire her for her bravery, but Treepaw seemed embarrassed and angry as well as unwilling to be nice to her for it.

But it could have also had something to do with Stoneclaw, his father. Ashpaw remembered the words he'd spoken the night of the Gathering:

_"I just want Father to like me."_

Treepaw still didn't know that she'd heard that and Ashpaw still wasn't going to tell him. Not until she understood more about the situation.

_Was Treepaw like her? Did it have something to do with his mother's death?_ Questions circled in Ashpaw's head as she pondered Treepaw's words. She barely listened as Spiderpaw told her the reports of the other three clans.

She didn't focus much on her hunt and didn't bring back as much prey as usual. No one seemed to mind that fact though, as she'd provided so much prey for the clan already, and one of her catches, a lucky one, had been a brown rabbit, big enough for the three nursery queens to share, or perhaps, the three elders.

Ambereye and Hollyheart quickly went over to Lilystar's den to report about fox scent inside of their territory. Meanwhile, as Spiderpaw and Ashpaw went to deposit their prey on the fresh-kill pile, Ash noticed Treepaw exit the elder's den, his nose wrinkling. 

_He must've just checked for the elder's ticks._ Ashpaw thought.

Treepaw approached the fresh-kill pile as Ashpaw watched and Spiderpaw glared in his direction. Only Ashpaw noticed his small flinch as Treepaw met Spiderpaw's gaze for a heartbeat before he turned away. Though she really was the only one paying any attention to even his slightest movements. Spiderpaw puffed out his chest, pridefully, like he'd just won an intimidating staring contest and Ashpaw couldn't help but let out an amused mewl of laughter.

Treepaw simply ignored him. A smart decision as he looked ready to let out a rude remark. Then Ashpaw noticed Stoneclaw's unblinking stare as he focused on his son which explained everything.

Treepaw pawed at the rabbit looking up at Ashpaw. "Did you catch this?"

Ashpaw nodded in response.

"Mind if I take this to the elders."

"Fine by me."

Treepaw blinked and began dragging the rabbit back in the direction of the elder's den. Stoneclaw turned and padded away, his gaze expressionless. 

_Like Lilystar._ Ashpaw thought.

Shocked, Spiderpaw glanced back and forth between Treepaw and Ashpaw, looking as if he were trying to take in the scene that had enfolded in front of him.

"Seriously Spiderpaw." Ashpaw nudged her friend playfully.

"That's like the first time he hasn't said anything mean to you. Or been cruel to you."

"Well, except for last night." Ashpaw argued.

"The first time with witnesses." Spiderpaw corrected himself. "There were no witnesses to witness last night."

"That is true." Ashpaw agreed.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully and soon it was time for everyone to head to their nests for the night. Ash had to admit she was nervous, especially after the strange dream from last night. She hoped for a normal dream this night, but at the same time she was pretty curious about the strange dream.

"You okay?" Treepaw's voice surprised her, but when she looked at him, his expression gave nothing away.

Ashpaw nodded and settled down into her nest. "Fine."

She closed her eyes and felt herself immediately whisked away into a dream. She blinked open her eyes, hoping it wasn't the same dream as the last time. She found herself in a new forest, as unfamiliar as the last, but this time more of a dream forest. She sighed in relief and padded forward only to see a starry cat blocking her path.

Ashpaw took three paw steps back, eyes focused on the starry tom-cat in front of her. He blinked at her before turning and padding away. Ashpaw got the feeling he was leading her somewhere, and she followed him. He led her to a glistening pool and sat at the edge. Ashpaw copied. He looked down at the pool.

Ashpaw followed his gaze and saw her own reflection. But then the image shifted and she could see the forests of OakClan's territory. She saw her mother padding into the forest, looking tired and scarred, calling out her the name "Lilac" over and over again.

_Lilac_. Ashpaw recalled. _My sister._

The bushes rustled and a she-cat leaped out of the undergrowth tackling Lilystar, who must've still been Lily at the time. Lily yowled in terror and surprise, clawing out blindly as she tried to throw off her attacker. It worked, but as soon as Lily was able to stumble to her paws, the she-cat leaped back on her.

"Get off our territory!" The she-cat hissed as she fought.

Looking closer, Ashpaw noticed the she-cat looked almost exactly like Treepaw. The only difference was that her eyes were amber colored instead of an icy blue.

_Hazelfall._ Ashpaw recalled. _That must be Stoneclaw's former mate and Treepaw's mother._

The fight continued but it was clear to see that Lily was losing badly. Hazelfall finally stepped away snarling as more cats joined her, circling Lily, and growling threats. Lily cowered in the center, ears flattened and fur bristling.

The scene shifted. Lily was obviously now Lilystar. She and Hazelfall were fighting again, in a sheltered part of the territory, close to a stream. Lilystar's eyes glistened with strong hate and revenge towards the cat who'd attacked her on her first day in clan territory. Hazelfall looked absolutely frightened of her leader, her eyes wide with horror and surprised.

Ashpaw could see her mouth moving as she tried to reason with Lilystar but her leader only continued to advance on the she-cat. Ashpaw watched in terror as her mother pushed Hazelfall closer and closer to the stream before finally leaping on the startled she-cat. This time, Lilystar had the upper paw, and the fight was an unfair one as Hazelfall was bound to lose.

Hazelfall was still skilled in her fighting, but she was also a loyal OakClan warrior, and she tried her best not to harm Lilystar. Lilystar, on the other paw, had other ideas, and attacked Hazelfall with swift blows and bites, that not even a skilled warrior like Hazelfall could block. Finally Hazel surrendered, rolling on her back panting and begging Lilystar to stop.

Ashpaw watched in pure horror as Lilystar lunged and bit into her spine, like one would kill prey. Hazelfall fell still, her breathing stopped and her eyes glazed over. Lilystar looked pleased as she pushed Hazelfall's body into the stream water, washing her paws as the dead she-cat's body floated away.

Not far off, a small golden she-cat was watching in horror. Ashpaw recognized her as the cat she'd seen in her other dream. Lilystar whipped her head around noticing the young she-cat.

_She must've been Hazelfall's apprentice._ Ashpaw realized.

Lilystar raced towards the apprentice, fangs glinting and claws scraping the leaves and grass. The young apprentice whirled around and raced away. Lilystar stopped and stared after the young cat before turning and heading back in the direction of the camp.

The pool returned to its normal state, and trembling, Ashpaw looked up to see that the starry tom had been joined by the strange golden she-cat. The she-cat padded to Ashpaw's side and rested her tail on Ashpaw's trembling flanks.

"Hello again. I'm sorry you had to see that. But it's the only way you can help me, help us." She gestured around her and Ashpaw noticed more starry cats enter the clearing along with a cat like her and the golden she-cat. He had gray fur and torn ears.

Ashpaw began to fade and the she-cat took notice of this.

"We don't have much time left, but you must visit me. You already know where I live, I'll tell you more when you arrive." The golden she-cat stepped away from Ashpaw as Ashpaw nodded, shakily. She could feel paws prodding her in the waking world.

"It's now time for you to leave. But remember to come. And remember who I am Ashpaw."

The starry cats were fading.

"I am Clover, and I was the first cat to witness Lilystar's traitorous kills. She wasn't always like this, and you are the only one who can help her."

Ashpaw blinked her eyes open in the waking world to see Treepaw, Redpaw, and Spiderpaw standing over her anxiously. Redpaw and Spiderpaw looked relieved but Treepaw stayed next to her as the other two left. Ashpaw could hear them meowing with Ambereye outside the den.

"Ashpaw what happened?" Treepaw whispered, eyes wide with concern. "What _did_ you dream about?"


	8. Jealousy and Revenge

Ashpaw pricked her ears nervously, ignoring Treepaw. He'd been bothering her the whole day, asking what she'd been dreaming about. Ashpaw wasn't sure whether to tell him or not, as his mother had been in her dreams. She wasn't sure how to feel about her mother killing his mother. And although she knew her mother must've had reasoning behind it, she didn't know why her mother thought killing a cat would let her finally gain revenge.

Ashpaw suspected Hazelfall wasn't exactly the sweetest cat you could meet and that she hadn't been kind to Lilystar like Skypool had on Ashpaw's first time in clan territory. Ashpaw also suspected that Hazelfall hadn't been the kindest to Lilystar even after she'd joined the clan. But she wouldn't know for sure until she'd asked Clover, Hazelfall's apprentice.

Ashpaw and Treepaw were on a hunting patrol, and Ashpaw had already managed to catch a blackbird. She'd spotted a squirrel on a tree, and raising her tail to silence Treepaw, she slowly slunk up the tree. Treepaw glared at her annoyed, and continued staring as she returned successfully with the squirrel hanging limp in her jaws.

Treepaw stepped in front of her. "You _will_ tell me what those dreams were about." He demanded, though now it was out of strong curiosity rather than concern.

Ashpaw met his gaze, which was starting to look a bit like his father's intimidating stare.

"I don't know." She murmured truthfully, because in all honesty, she'd seen visions of the past, watched her mother murder his mother, watched her mother get revenge, but had no clue what the dreams were about. She'd seen strange cats with stars in their pelts and strange cats without stars in their pelts.

What was worse was that she'd watched her own mother kill a cat. No matter how big of a bully a cat was, there was no right to kill a clanmate. Ashpaw had learned the clan cats treated each other like one big family. They looked out for one another, especially the young and the old, the kits and the elders. A leader killing her clanmate was most likely unheard of. A leader killing her _deputy's_ mate was probably never even considered. Was Stoneclaw even deputy at the time?

Treepaw stared at her for a moment longer before sighing as if realizing he wasn't going to get the answers he wanted. He picked up his prey, a plump pigeon and a mouse and turned to disappear into the undergrowth.

After the hunt, Ashpaw excused herself from the patrol to continue hunting. The perfect excuse to go meet Clover had opened itself to her when she'd realized she'd caught much less prey than any other cat, which was highly unlike her. She'd been distracted.

Treepaw offered to go with her, his chest puffing out for unknown reasons. Ashpaw snapped at him, declining, and stalked away. An orange tabby with dark blue eyes, Dawnstripe, Treepaw's mentor, muttered something to Treepaw preventing him from going after Ashpaw, before they all turned to head back to camp.

At first, Ashpaw padded along cautiously, ears and nose twitching expectantly, as she waited for someone to come after her. When no one did, she felt her heartbeat slow and quickened her pace until she was racing through the undergrowth. Her paws flying, she scampered up a tree. She wasn't dreaming, and the undergrowth wasn't too keen on being kind to her as she ran.

She was much more comfortable in the trees, leaping through the air from branch to branch like she once did in twolegplace where she jumped from twoleg perch to twoleg perch. A part of her resented the fact that she'd learned many of her wild skills while captured by twolegs. But another part was glad she'd taken the time to learn. Otherwise she would have probably ended up as a plump ball of kittypet fluff.

With a relaxed and inquisitive energy, Ashpaw raced through the trees faster than she'd ever raced before. Even faster than when she'd practiced in twolegplace.

At last she reached the outskirts of clan territory. After leaping a few more trees, Ashpaw bunched her muscles and landed in the unfamiliar undergrowth she'd only ever been to in her strange dreams.

Now that she was out of sight of clan territory, she padded along slower than before, eyes wide, ears perked, and nose twitching as she took in her surroundings and tried to remember what she'd seen in her first dream.

_This is the place Clover caught the rabbit._ Ashpaw recalled as she reached a familiar patch of land.

The bushes rustled and the familiar ginger she-cat stepped out, her green eyes twinkling.

"Ashpaw you came." She purred. "Follow me. We have some things to discuss. My mate, Mouse will be there along with a clan cat you haven't met yet. Another witness to Lilystar's horrors but brave enough to not yet leave the clans."

A silence filled the air as Ashpaw followed Clover deeper into the unknown territories. As they neared the clearing where Clover lived, Ashpaw detected a fishy scent in the air.

_RippleClan._ Ashpaw recalled the scent from when Ambereye explained the Clan territories to her.

Sure enough, as Clover slowed down and then stopped in a strange clearing, a sleek silver tom, with the fishy scent of RippleClan, waited for them along with the grey tom with torn ears from Ashpaw's dreams.

"This is her?" The tom asked, immediately. "The cat you keep seeing in your dreams?"

Clover dipped her head. "Yes, this is her. She is Lilystar's daughter."

The tom eyed Ashpaw warily. "Lilystar's daughter, huh? Why would the killer's daughter help us? Wouldn't she be just as cruel as her mother, if not crueler?"

"Ashpaw isn't her mother, Stonepaw." Clover replied, coolly. "Don't be so quick to judge a cat you don't know."

The torn eared cat nodded in agreement. "A cat can be very different from their mother and father. And when Lilystar came to the clans, she mentioned she'd been chased by dogs and was looking for safety. Where were her kits when she fled?"

"Maybe she didn't have kits at the time." Stonepaw suggested. "Maybe she went back into twolegplace, had kits with a strange tom, then left to go back to the clans."

"Is this true, Ash?" The cat with torn ears asked. Ashpaw noticed how he'd called her Ash instead of Ashpaw. "Where were you and your littermates, if you have any, when you're mother left."

Ashpaw trained her eyes on the ground. She wasn't sure if she could trust the RippleClan apprentice and the torn-eared cat, yet. But she did know that she could trust Clover.

"When my mother left, my brother, Dusty, and I had been captured by twolegs. My other brother, Grey, was limp in the jaws of a dog. I don't know what happened to my sister, Lilac."

Stonepaw stared at the ground with guilt. Concern shown in Clover's gaze. Sympathy flashed in the eyes of the torn-eared tom before he turned to look at Stonepaw."

"You see Stone? Why would a cat be anything like the cat who'd abandoned her and her littermates as kits? To face dogs and twolegs?"

Stonepaw clawed at the earth underneath his paws. _Stone_. Ash wondered. _Why doesn't this cat refer to us with our clan names?_

"Come with us to our camp, Ashpaw. We'll explain more about Lilystar and Hazelfall, there." Clover led the way out of the clearing with the other three cats following.

Ashpaw soon found herself in the clearing she'd seen in her dreams. Clover's four kits wrestled happily in the clearing but stopped as soon as they saw the four cats enter.

"Mama! Mama!" They called, tumbling over Clover's paws and bouncing around her in happy circles.

One of them was much smaller than her littermates. She had speckled black fur and golden eyes. The other female kit was a long furred grey tabby she-kit with bright blue eyes. One of the tom kits shared the golden fur and green eyes of his mother and the other was a tortoiseshell with amber eyes.

"Father!" The tortoiseshell kit circled the torn-eared tom as his long furred sister raced to Stonepaw.

"Stone!" She squealed as the RippleClan apprentice lowered his head to lick her ear, affectionately.

The smallest kit was now eyeing Ashpaw curiously. "Mama, who is she?"

Clover purred as her kits looked at her expectantly. "Kits, this is Ashpaw. Ashpaw these are my kits." She gestured to each kit in turn as she called out their names. "Fly," She gestured to the tiny speckled she-kit. "Misty," She rested her tail on the head of the long furred grey she-kit. "Leaf," The little golden tom looked up at Ash with huge green eyes. "and Maple." The tortoiseshell raised his head and tail as his mother called his name.

"And I don't think I introduced myself." The torn-eyed tom caught Ashpaw's eye. "I am Mouse."

"Now, Ashpaw, we understand you are unable to stay long so we'll try to tell you as much as we can about your mother and Hazelfall. Then we can probably arrange better times to meet with you." Clover meowed, curling her tail over her paws as she sat down.

The kits tumbled away to play some more and Stonepaw excused himself to watch them. Ashpaw found herself seated in front of Mouse and Clover as she waited for them to begin.

"Okay, so you saw how Lilystar first came into the clan territory. And from the clans' hostile greeting, you're probably wondering how she got into the clan." Clover paused and as Ashpaw nodded, she began again. "Well, I don't know if you've heard of it or not, but there's this sickness that comes almost every leaf-bare, called greencough. It happens when a much milder version of the sickness, whitecough goes untreated.

"Whitecough and greencough affected many apprentices, elders, kits, queens, and even warriors who were healing from injury, in all four clans. After the sickness went away, OakClan had lost a queen and her unborn kits, two warriors, one kit and two elders. What's worse was the loss of four new apprentices.

"When OakClan heard Lilystar's tale of the dogs from twolegplace, they decided it was a good idea to bring her into the clans. The leader at the time was desperate for more cats especially because the greencough had affected our clan the most."

_Our clan._ Ashpaw noticed how Clover referred to the clan as her own. _She still feels like a part of the clan she ran away from so many moons ago._

"So when Lilystar came into the territory, our leader, Badgerstar, believed that her coming was some sort of good omen for OakClan. Lilystar was invited into the clans and she accepted. During her apprentice ceremony, she was apprenticed to Badgerstar, which is a great honor. Many cats envied her but congratulated her nonetheless. 

"Hazelfall, especially, wondered why Badgerstar, who happened to be her father, would let a rogue, a _twolegplace_ rogue, become his apprentice. She questioned him but he gave her no answer. And it was then that her dislike towards Lilystar started to show as her father paid Lilystar much more attention than he ever gave Hazelfall. He did this because he believed she was a good omen, but didn't understand how badly it was affecting his daughter. After all, she was a grown cat and shouldn't have expected him to continue treating her like a kit."

Mouse took over and Ashpaw soon realized why. Clover had been Hazelfall's apprentice after all, and as they'd shared a close connection with one another, she'd be unwilling to say anything bad about her former mentor.

"Hazelfall started to bully Lilystar out of jealousy. At first it was constant reminders that Lilystar had been a rogue and not clanborn. She boasted about how much better she was being born a clan cat and having a special connection with our ancestors, StarClan, that no rogue could ever have. She told Lilystar that she'd never be a _real_ clan cat no matter how hard she tried or what she did.

"Then Hazelfall started to do small attacks on Lilystar. She didn't leave Lilystar with the scars of a battle, but still managed to scratch Lilystar up pretty good. Hazelfall scarred Lilystar's nose and scratched her pelt. But Lilystar's long fur covered up most of the scratches leaving them unseen. Hazelfall was able to do it very secretly, too, so no one noticed.

"Lilystar was getting stronger, but so was Hazelfall. By then, her best friend Stoneclaw, had become her mate. Oddly enough, Stoneclaw was very friendly towards Lilystar despite the fact that his mate hated her.

"Moons passed and Hazelfall's bullying didn't cease even after Lilystar became a warrior, her name was Lilystorm, and could fend for herself. Badgerstar was getting old and whitecough and greencough came again, this time bringing another sickness with them: redcough. It could make a cat cough up blood."

Clover took over again. "Yes and greencough wasn't too bad that moon. Mouse and I had become apprenticed. Me to Hazelfall and him to Bluefang."

Ashpaw recalled something Stoneclaw had told her on her first day in the territories: T _wo of our finest warriors, Hazelfall and Bluefang, have gone to join our ancestors._

Clover continued. "Bluefang was another victim of Lilystar's killing, though the reason remains unknown. He'd never been mean to Lilystar. He'd also never been kind, but he was that way to every cat, it shouldn't have affected her.

"Anyways our clan deputy as well as Badgerstar got sick with greencough before it turned into redcough. We lost our deputy to the sickness and Badgerstar lost a life. Lilystar became his new deputy.

Mouse rested his tail on his mate's shoulder. "Clan life continued and Lilystar continued to endure Hazelfall's constant bullying. Though around that time, she started to defend herself. This made Hazelfall angry and her scratches started to get worse.

"Badgerstar died a moon later and Lilystar became clan leader. Shortly after, Lilystar got her long awaited revenge on Hazelfall, which you witnessed in your dreams. Then she chased Clover away. After that, she started to kill more cats who she felt treated her wrong, including Bluefang.

"I came here and found Clover after witnessing her kill an elder. Stone found us shortly after he ran away from his clan after witnessing Lilystar kill his father, a cat who hadn't been friendly to Lilystar in previous gatherings. We convinced him to stay and watch Lilystar as best as he could from RippleClan. So far there haven't been any more recent deaths. But Lilystar is too unpredictable and we still don't know when her next move will be." Mouse finished.

_So, Hazelfall was a bully._ Ashpaw thought. _And she was proud of her clan roots but also envious of Lilystar's special treatment._ She'd known many bullies in twolegplace but she mostly ignored them. It must've been harder for Lilystar as she lived with her bully. _But why kill her? Killing doesn't give you answers and it certainly won't make you feel any better._

Clover stared up at the sky, realizing how late it was getting. "You should head back to your clan." She told Ashpaw. "Please watch Lilystar for us and meet us back here in eight days. Also, take with you some prey and go hunting on your way back. You'll need an excuse to why you've been away for so long."

Clover and Mouse touched noses with Ashpaw and gave her a squirrel to bring back to OakClan. Stonepaw waved his tail in a silent farewell and the four kits, Fly, Misty, Leaf, and Maple bounced around her as they called out their goodbyes. With a final goodbye, Ashpaw picked up the squirrel and left, her thoughts swarming in her head.

_Lilystar wanted revenge. Lilystar wanted to get back at Hazelfall for everything she did. But revenge won't make you better than any cat. Getting back at them will only make you stoop lower than them. And killing? Well, that was unheard of. Killing a cat would make it seem like the bully was a good, kind cat. Killing a cat would make the bully higher than the trees, while making the killer stoop lower than the forest floor._

_Lilystar's a killer._ Ashpaw thought as she hunted. 

_I'll watch her and report whatever I can find to Clover, Mouse, and Stonepaw in the next eight days, or whenever I next see them._ Ashpaw promised as she padded back to OakClan's camp, the place she now knew as her home.


	9. Her Target

Ashpaw nervously gulped down a mouse from the fresh-kill pile. She hadn't had any more strange dreams, or any dreams for that matter, since her first visit with Clover and Mouse. She either spent her nights dreamless or sleepless. She'd re-visited Clover and Mouse two times already, with little to no information on Lilystar. On her last visit, she'd managed to figure out that Lilystar was planning something, she didn't know what it was yet, and shared the news with Clover, Mouse, and Stonepaw.

Lilystar started to slowly acknowledge Ashpaw's existence. She'd sometimes compliment when Ashpaw brought back prey. Once, after Ambereye had given Lilystar a report on how Ashpaw had detected dog scent near the borders, Lilystar gave her daughter a swift nod. But all of Lilystar's actions towards her daughter seemed forced.

Lilystar was staring across the clearing, watching her daughter eat, her green eyes unblinking. Ashpaw found it quite unnerving and the mouse had a bitter taste to it. She didn't even have to look up to notice her mother's gaze, as it burned into her pelt, making her even more uncomfortable.

The entrance to the camp rustled and the recent hunting patrol returned, jaws laden with prey. Spiderpaw set down two blackbirds before grabbing a shrew for himself. Scanning the clearing, his eyes lit up when he found Ashpaw, and he hurried to her side, oblivious of Lilystar's creepy gaze. Brightpaw and Redpaw joined them, a few heartbeats later, and started a conversation.

Lilystar's gaze flicked somewhere else for a small heartbeat, a hungry look in her eyes, before turning back towards her daughter and her daughter's friends.

Ashpaw wasn't the only one who noticed the strangeness of the situation. Though Redpaw and Spiderpaw were now fighting over something irrelevant, completely oblivious to Lilystar, Brightpaw noticed her leader's unnerving gaze as it flicked back and forth staring intently at the four apprentices.

"Why is Lilystar looking at us like that, do you know?" She muttered to Ashpaw.

Ashpaw swallowed her last bite of mouse and shook her head.

"Do you think we did something wrong?" Brightpaw let out a small whimper.

"No..." Ashpaw answered.

Lilystar's stare moved away from them again, focusing in the same direction as before, the direction of the elder's den. The dangling leaves and branches sheltering the entrance of the den rustled revealing a brown tabby apprentice, Treepaw. He approached the fresh-kill pile, grabbed one of Spiderpaw's blackbirds, and spotting his fellow apprentices, padded over to them. His tail twitched nervously as he felt Lilystar's gaze burn into his pelt.

Stoneclaw emerged from the warriors den, intercepting his son. After a quick conversation with his father, Treepaw dropped the bird at Stoneclaw's paws. Stoneclaw ripped off a large chunk of the bird in his jaws and carried it over to where Lilystar sat. Treepaw retrieved what was left of his prey and head down in shame, he padded the rest of the way to the other apprentices.

_What was that about?_ Ashpaw wondered.

Redpaw and Spiderpaw were now play fighting by their friends and had not paid any attention to the strange happening between Stoneclaw, Lilystar, and Treepaw. But as Treepaw neared, they stopped their playing and drew closer to Ashpaw and Brightpaw.

Redpaw narrowed her eyes at the brown tabby. "What do you want Treepaw?"

Treepaw ignored her and sat down beside Brightpaw, nibbling on a wing.

"I caught that bird, you know!" Spiderpaw placed a paw over the blackbird. "And I say you can't eat it!"

Brightpaw stood up. "Spiderpaw!" She scolded. "Did you not see what just happened? Just sit back down and let Treepaw eat."

Spiderpaw backed away from Treepaw, sitting down beside Redpaw and mumbling something to her. 

Meanwhile, Ashpaw was watching Lilystar's reactions to the argument. She seemed pleased when Spiderpaw tried to prevent Treepaw from eating his fresh-kill and a tiny bit annoyed when Brightpaw defended Treepaw. And when Lilystar looked at Treepaw, Ashpaw noticed a strange and unnerving hungriness in her mother's eyes.

_I should tell Clover and Mouse about that_ _._ She thought to herself.

"Ashpaw?" Spiderpaw's voice shook her from her thoughts. "You okay?"

Ashpaw nodded. "Fine. Just thinking."

"Oh, okay."

Brightpaw suddenly perked up. "Hey Ashpaw, you know the Gathering's tomorrow right?"

"Right." Ashpaw replied.

Redpaw leaped to her paws, pacing back and forth excitedly. "Maybe Lilystar will let you come this time!" She squealed, unable to conceal her happiness. "I could show you different cats from all the clans and you can meet my friends from the clans and listen to stories from the clan elders and..."

Redpaw continued to babble on about the Gathering and Ashpaw found herself interested. Perhaps she'd see Stonepaw there and tell him about her suspicions about Lilystar's strange actions.

Treepaw, on the other paw, was now glaring in the direction of his leader and his father. Lilystar was weaving around Stoneclaw telling him something. Confused Ashpaw glanced at Treepaw, who was looking very angry. He stalked off towards the apprentice den, leaving the unfinished remains of his blackbird.

Redpaw glanced at Treepaw then back at his prey repeatedly. Then she leaped forward and devoured the rest of Treepaw's blackbird in a few quick gulps.

"Uh, Redpaw...?" Spiderpaw stared at her in horror and admiration.

"You just..." Brightpaw shook her head.

Redpaw glanced up at her friends in slight embarrassment. "What? I was hungry!"

The next day was the Gathering. And to Ashpaw's pleasure and surprise, she was chosen as one of the cats to attend. Although Spiderpaw had to stay behind, Redpaw, Treepaw, and Brightpaw would all be coming along with their mentors. When the time came for the cats to leave, Spiderpaw quickly muttered a goodbye to his friends before yawning and padding to the shelter of the apprentices' den.

Despite Ashpaw's excitement, she was getting impatient to share the information she'd collected with Stonepaw.

_What if he isn't there_? She wondered, worried. _Well then I'll have to tell Clover, Mouse, and him tomorrow. Thank StarClan the next meeting time is then._

"Ashpaw stop pacing. We're about to leave." Redpaw rested her fluffy tail on her friends back.

"It'll be fun! I promise." Brightpaw purred, leading the way to join the rest of the cats gathered around Lilystar.

Lilystar scanned the cats gathered around her, before turning and flicking her tail, signaling her cats to follow her as she dashed away. Redpaw kept pace with Ashpaw as they followed the OakClan leader, but Brightpaw sped ahead to join her mentor and Treepaw trailed behind his father.

Ashpaw's nose twitched as the group of cats neared the meeting place. She could taste all the different scents of each clan as they mingled together nearer and nearer to the center of the territories. A fishy scent caught her attention as Lilystar began to slow, ears pricked.

The RippleClan cats were approaching from their own territory following their leader, Silverstar, his group consisting of one to two more cats than OakClan's group. All the cats had sleek, smooth fur, with strong muscles rippling beneath their pelts, muscles that proved useful when they swam in the river on their territory to catch fish.

Silverstar dipped his head to Lilystar and joined her as she headed off again. The two groups padded side by side, but kept their gazes fixed ahead. 

At last they reached the center of the territories. A huge clearing was already filled with two groups of cats, already starting to mingle with one another. One group held the musty scent of the pine forest while the other carried the heathery clear-air scent of the moor.

A large willow tree stood in the center of the clearing, which was shaped like a five-petaled flower. Heather from the moor grew on one petal, thorn and bramble bushes grew on another, reeds and rushes on the third, and marshy swamp plants on the forth. The fifth petal, on the other paw, led to the unclaimed territories. The branches of the willow tree seemed to point in all directions, to all territories, claimed or unclaimed.

The cats attending the Gathering found various spots to sit at mixed with the other different clans of the forest. The leaders found their way to settle down at the roots of the willow, to watch their clans mingle with each other before they gave their full moon reports.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Redpaw whispered to Ashpaw, who nodded in reply.

"C'mon let's show you some of the _friendlier_ apprentices." Brightpaw meowed.

Ashpaw followed her friends as they led her towards some other clan apprentices. She almost immediately spotted Stonepaw sitting beside a brown tabby, but looking around everywhere as if looking for someone. The brown tabby eventually gave up talking to him and stood up, eyes landing on Ashpaw. He bounded over towards her.

"Oh no." Redpaw muttered under her breath.

"Well, well." The brown tabby exclaimed. "If it isn't the new OakClan apprentice!"

"Hi. Ashpaw this is Barkpaw. He's very annoying and mouse-brained and super prideful." Redpaw introduced.

"I'm not prideful." Barkpaw protested, puffing out his chest. "You're just mad because you know I'm better than you."

Redpaw rolled her eyes. "You just proved my point. C'mon Ashpaw, let me introduce you to some much less arrogant toms."

Stonepaw noticed the two she-cats from where he sat and padded over to them. "Hello Redpaw."

"Hi Stonepaw, this is Ashpaw."

Stonepaw nodded in Ashpaw's direction and held her gaze sending her a message. He needed to talk to her as soon as she was available.

Redpaw continued to bounce around, introducing Ashpaw to all of the apprentices who'd attended the Gathering. Eventually she settled down to listen to a BreezeClan elder share a story about chasing a rabbit down a burrow back in his younger days. Ashpaw took that moment to slip away and find Stonepaw.

"We have to hurry." Stonepaw muttered as Ashpaw approached him. "The leaders are about to give their reports and then we'll have to leave." Stonepaw flicked his left ear as Barkpaw rolled by them. "Oh, and keep your voice down."

Ashpaw nodded and the two crept towards the edge of the clearing, by the petal that pointed to the unclaimed territories.

"Do you have anything to report?" Stonepaw questioned once they'd settled down.

"Yesterday Lilystar was staring creepily at my friends and me. When Treepaw got finished from checking the elders for ticks, he went to get a blackbird from the fresh-kill. He'd barely made it a few paw steps towards my friends and me before Stoneclaw intercepted him. He took most of Treepaw's prey and then shared it with Lilystar, despite the fact that both of them could have gone over to get fresh-kill themselves.

"Stoneclaw has also been hanging out a lot with Lilystar recently. I still feel kind of new to clan life, but I don't think deputy and leader are supposed to hang out with each other _that_ much." Ashpaw tapped her tail on the ground, thoughtfully. "What about you?"

"I saw her with Stoneclaw near the RippleClan border." Stonepaw admitted. "They were intertwining tails and talking and doing other stuff. And with what you just told me about them hanging out and being close in OakClan... I... um... I think they're _mates_."

Ashpaw sensed the disgust in her friend's tone and she knew why. Lilystar was a female leader and according to the Warrior Code, there was no way she could have a mate as that would lead to kits. No clan cat would react well to the news of a female leader having kits, as kits are a mother's first priority, and it would be difficult for Lilystar to lead her clan while worrying about kits at the same time.

Ashpaw had seen Skypool fuss over her six kits and Clover full over her four. The kits took up most of their mother's time. Lilystar wouldn't be able to lead with kits.

And Stoneclaw knew this. So why would he even think about taking Lilystar as a mate? And what about Hazelfall? She and the OakClan leader were sworn enemies. Did Stoneclaw even know? Did he realize he was betraying his former mate?

"What are you thinking?" Stonepaw questioned.

"Hazelfall." Ashpaw replied. "I'm still unsure whether I like her or not, but... wouldn't she feel betrayed at the fact that her former mate was becoming mates with her worst enemy? What is Stoneclaw thinking?"

"I don't think Stoneclaw's thinking." Stonepaw meowed. "Or Lilystar might know something about him that no other cat does or something that isn't necessarily an ideal trait in a cat. And she's using that to her advantage to plan out her next target." He thought for a moment. "Though she might have always had a crush on him in the first place. According to Clover, Lilystar and Stoneclaw were always good friends, much to Hazelfall's disgust."

He stared intently at Ashpaw. "Do you know any traits that aren't his best? What's something he doesn't like? What's something he's bad at?" He paused. "Is there any cat he doesn't like? That could be Lilystar's next target."

Ashpaw thought for a moment. Her friend's reasoning made sense. Lilystar hadn't made a move in such a long time because she was getting to know Stoneclaw better and gaining his trust. Learning his faults and dislikes. Finding out whoever he didn't like so that she'd get rid of them for him.

Finding some cat he didn't like... 

Finding some cat he was angry with... 

Finding some cat he was extremely disappointed with...

Finding some cat who he believed couldn't do anything right... 

Finding some cat who he thought had been a failure...

Finding some cat who he believed always made mistakes...

... no matter how hard that cat tried to prove his father wrong...

"Treepaw." Ashpaw gasped as realization shook her from nose to tail tip. "Her next target is Treepaw."


	10. Safe

Ashpaw barely paid attention for the rest of the Gathering. She'd made her way back to her clanmates so that no cat would become suspicious. She'd found herself seated in between Ambereye and Redpaw. The other clans gave their reports leaving OakClan last. Lilystar spoke with authority and sweetness.

No cat doubted her. Not a single cat knew she was a killer. No cat knew she had another kill in mind. Not even the cats who were close to her unlucky victims.

On the way back to the OakClan camp, Ashpaw pondered how she'd tell Treepaw and how to get him to follow her to meet Clover. Stonepaw had told her that it would be best to let Clover or Mouse explain everything to him. It wasn't safe for Treepaw to remain in the clans anymore. Lilystar had obviously been planning this out for a long time.

"Ashpaw, are you okay?" Redpaw bounced along beside her. "You seem lost in thought. Is it about your first time at the Gathering?"

"Um...yeah, I'm fine."

"Oh okay! Stoneclaw told me that the first time to a Gathering can be a bit overwhelming for some cats, because of the large amount of cats and all the different scents." Redpaw explained. "So it's alright if you're really not fine."

"Okay." Ashpaw replied, distractedly. Redpaw didn't notice how Ashpaw flinched when she spoke Stoneclaw's name.

"I'm gonna go ahead now. See you later!" Redpaw flicked her tail and sped to the front to pad behind her mentor.

Treepaw took her place. "Ashpaw, you're not okay. What are you thinking about?"

"I'll tell you later." Ashpaw muttered. She couldn't tell him anything with all the other cats around her. They were very loyal to their leader and if she voiced her thoughts, they'd only get suspicious of her. Ashpaw needed the other cats' trust so she could keep a close eye on Lilystar and learn more about clan life.

Treepaw looked surprised by her answer, as before whenever he asked her, she'd either ignore him or snap. He accepted her answer and padded along in silence beside her.

After they arrived at camp, Ashpaw immediately noticed Stoneclaw pad after Lilystar to her den. All the other cats dismissed it and headed off to their dens, it was normal for leader and deputy to commune after a Gathering, but after what Stonepaw predicted about the two being mates, Ashpaw couldn't be sure what to believe anymore.

Redpaw gently brushed by her friend and Ashpaw followed her into the apprentice den. When the two reached the den, no other cat was awake. Ashpaw groaned inwardly when she realized she hadn't been able to discuss Lilystar with Treepaw. She'd have to wait until morning, but now that Ashpaw somewhat knew what Lilystar was planning and how long she'd been planning, Ashpaw wasn't sure how much time Treepaw had left.

_I'll tell him just before dawn._ Ashpaw decided. _We can offer to go on the dawn patrol for an escape._

Eyes drooping, Ashpaw settled down in her nest and curled her tail over her nose. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.

She blinked her eyes open and looked around her to find herself in a familiar forest. The forest that she'd found herself in when she'd witnessed Lilystar's first kill in the pool of water. There was no sign of another presence. No Clover and no starry cats.

She hesitantly took a few steps closer to the pool that was glistening before her.

"Ashpaw?"

Ashpaw whirled around at the startling familiar voice. She glanced in all directions to see who had spoken. The undergrowth rustled and Ashpaw's eyes widened in surprise as Treepaw stepped out looking around in awe.

"Where—" Treepaw breathed, staring with wide eyes. "Last time I checked, it was night and I was sleeping. So, uh, how exactly did we get here?" His eyes widened even more. "Do you think some cat—"

"We're dreaming." Ashpaw stated.

"Cats don't share dreams. That's impossible." Treepaw argued. "So when I wake up, I'll ask the _real_ Ashpaw and if she says we shared a dream, then I'll believe it, but if she doesn't know what I'm meowing about, I'll know that sharing dreams is still impossible."

"Okay, ask me when we wake up, then." Ashpaw snorted.

"Alright." Treepaw lifted his chin.

Ashpaw perked her ears as a rustle sounded in the leaves of the trees towering high above the two cats. She tilted her head back and saw two pairs of eyes, a green pair and an amber pair, staring down at her. Treepaw, still oblivious to the cats above, trotted to the water and dipped a paw in it as if testing if it was real.

Clover and Mouse leaped down on either side of Ashpaw and Stonepaw scurried down behind them. Treepaw stopped splashing in the water to turn and look at the newcomers with narrowed eyes.

"Stone told us your suspicions already." Mouse meowed. "We are meeting with our ancestors elsewhere this time. Come with your friend and we'll show you."

Ashpaw nodded and began to follow as Clover, Mouse, and Stonepaw turned to head somewhere different in the forest.

"C'mon Treepaw!" She mewed.

"Wait a heartbeat." Treepaw shook the water off of his paws. "Who are these cats?"

Mouse looked slightly amused and Clover was the one to answer.

"We are the ones who were lost." Clover muttered before turning and disappearing into the undergrowth.

Treepaw looked bewildered by her explanation but followed anyway. He leaped easily between roots and over logs, like he'd done in OakClan territory, looking surprised as Ashpaw did the same, as she normally seemed clumsy among all the undergrowth of the forest.

"It's a dream." Ashpaw meowed a one word explanation, speeding up to catch up to Clover.

Mouse leads his four companions to an open moor-like territory with a small stream running through it. Starry cats wait for the living cats on one side of the stream. With a start, Ash recognized one of them from the dreams she'd had from before. Treepaw squinted at the same cat before letting out a gasp.

He kept silent as the five of them neared the starry cats, as if unsure if his predictions about the starry cat were true. On the other paw, with every pawstep she took, Ashpaw could see with certainty that she knew exactly who the cat was.

"Hazelfall." Ashpaw meowed softly.

Hazelfall purred, leaping over the stream in a single bound. "Hi Ashpaw!" She called cheerily. "I've seen and heard so much about you! You remind me so much of my best friend, Marigoldflower, you are nothing at all like your mother."

Ashpaw was unsure of what to think about being _nothing_ like her mother. She did disagree with many of the things her mother did, but she also believed there was some kind of reasoning behind it. Her mother had been born a rogue with a harsh rogue mother. And the life of a clan cat was very different from that of a rogue.

But Ashpaw didn't necessarily want to be like her mother. After all, Lilystar was a killer. Clan cats don't kill and if Lilystar was really trying to be a clan cat, why would she kill. And Hazelfall _stopped_ bullying Lilystar after she became leader of OakClan, so there wasn't really a good enough reason for Lilystar to kill Hazelfall. Lilystar had always been friends with Stoneclaw, and she'd even helped comfort him after his entire litter, except for Treepaw, died of a deadly sickness. Then she killed his mate shortly after. His sadness must've been unbearable.

And now she's planning to kill his son, the only family he has left. Unless Stonepaw is right about Stoneclaw and Lilystar being mates and Lilystar plans to start a family with him. Then Stoneclaw probably wouldn't be sad for long if Treepaw died or left because he had Lilystar and they had their own kits and love.

_What does Hazelfall know?_ Ashpaw wondered. _How does she feel about Stoneclaw and Lilystar's closeness?_

_And who is Marigoldflower?_

"I know what you're thinking." Hazelfall meowed. "Who in StarClan is Marigoldflower?" She paused. "You know how you witnessed my death in the pool in the other clearing?"

Treepaw perked up at this, his blue eyes widening in horror. Ashpaw nodded.

"Well I've been watching you. Remember how _she_ left you and your brothers to fend for yourselves against the dogs and twolegs?" Hazelfall questioned.

Ashpaw noticed how Hazelfall didn't even bother to speak Lilystar's name.

"Remember the ginger she-cat who helped _her_ fight the dogs while your other sister escaped? That was Marigoldflower. She was your mother's sister. And Rainfur is her brother. _She_ lied to you about her littermates dying. To you and your littermates.

"Marigoldflower disappeared from the clan the same day your mother joined the clans. That's why I fought her at her first meeting. I was worried for Marigoldflower and I accused your mother for my friend going missing. Turns out I was right.

"But don't worry Ashpaw, you're nothing like that fox-heart. You're kind and friendly and careful, but I can tell you'll fight for what you believe in. Exactly like Marigoldflower." Hazelfall purred.

_So Lilystar lied._ Ashpaw shook her head. _First she left, then she lied, and now she's ignoring me._

"And you!" Hazelfall paced forward to touch noses with Treepaw. "I've missed you so, so, so much! I've watched you grow and I think you're an amazing cat! Don't ever doubt yourself, again!"

_Hazelfall's a bully. That much is obvious. But when she's with a cat she likes, she's actually... nice._

Hazelfall glanced at the other starry cats as if asking permission for something. They nodded and she beckoned to Treepaw and Stonepaw with her tail, leading them away.

_And now I guess I know why she didn't like Lilystar. But that doesn't mean she had any right to bully Lilystar. If I'm like Marigoldflower, then I don't think Marigoldflower would've liked the fact that Hazelfall bullied her sister. It doesn't matter how cruel Lilystar always was or if it was her fault Marigoldflower was gone._

Mouse seemed curious at the mention of Marigoldflower. "I heard much about her when I still lived in the clans. Where did she go?"

A starry blue furred tom shook his head. "She and Lilystar split up to search for Ash and her littermates. While Marigoldflower searched for all four, Lilystar only had her heart set on finding Ash's sister, Lilac." He sighed. "Marigoldflower is beyond the clan territories, farther than the unclaimed. She is beyond StarClan's reach no matter how much we want to find her."

Clover was only half-listening. She was studying the blue tom, waiting. A butterfly flew in front of his nose and he reached up to bat it away. It rose higher and he reared catching it's wing. It fluttered helplessly as the tom watched and played with it before letting it go. 

But not before Ashpaw noticed the fang-shaped marking on his back. Clover did too.

"Bluefang." She meowed in awe.

"It is I." Bluefang nodded but said nothing more. He was as emotionless as Clover had described him. But he was also seemingly unembarrassed by the fact that all the other cats around him were watching with amused looks.

Plenty of heartbeats later, Hazelfall returned with Stonepaw and Treepaw. Ashpaw searched Treepaw's face for any signs of emotion but he proved to be unreadable and his occasional twitch of the ear meant nothing. Ashpaw gave up as Treepaw and Stonepaw padded over to stand with Clover, Mouse, and her.

"Our time with you has come to an end." Bluefang meowed as the dreaming cats began to fade. "But we will meet again, not too soon, we hope."

Ashpaw opened her eyes and stretched, accidentally waking up Redpaw in the process.

"Ouch!" She yelps, before looking around and lowering her voice. "Oops, sorry. Hope I didn't wake any cat up. Let's go outside so I don't accidentally yelp again."

Ashpaw nodded. "Okay let's. And uh... sorry for waking you up."

"Actually _thank you_ for waking me up. I was having the _worst_ dream ever! I was chasing a rabbit and I caught it and I brought it back to eat. But whenever I tried to bite it my teeth went through and it reappeared elsewhere."

Ashpaw rolled her eyes, amused. "Of _course_ that was the worst dream."

Redpaw quietly slipped between the other sleeping apprentices to exit the den. Ashpaw lifted a paw to follow but paused when she noticed a trembling form in the darkness. She carefully approached it, and noticing who it was, gently prodded the already-awake form with a paw.

Treepaw opened his eyes and stared at her, trying to quickly hide his trembling but failed. His fear was clearly visible in his gaze and he kept glancing at the entrance as if expecting Lilystar to come through and kill him right then and there. Ashpaw gently rested her tail on his back and gestured with her head towards the entrance.

"C'mon." She murmured. "We have to go."

Treepaw nodded and stood on shaky legs, seemingly understanding.

_Hazelfall or Stonepaw must've told him._ Ashpaw thought. _I wonder if he'll stay with Clover and Mouse and their kits. I wonder if they'll accept him._

"She wants to kill me." Treepaw whispered, barely audible.

Ashpaw pressed against him comfortingly. "I know. And that's why we have to leave. Then you'll be safe."

Treepaw nodded and padded after her. The two ducked out of the den where Redpaw was waiting, thumping her tail impatiently. Treepaw immediately straightened and tried his best to suppress his trembles. If Redpaw noticed, she didn't say anything.

"Stoneclaw's put me on the dawn patrol, so I'll be leaving as soon as he gets Rainfur from the warriors den. When I asked if you could come too, Ashpaw, he told me Lilystar's leading a hunting patrol so you could go on that or you could join Hollyheart's."

Treepaw visibly flinched at the mention of Lilystar's name and glanced warily in the direction of the leader's den. Redpaw noticed this and gazed curiously at him.

"Um, Treepaw are you—"

"Fine." Treepaw interrupted, bristling a little bit.

"Okay, then!" Redpaw exclaimed. "Well, anyways, Stoneclaw wants you to join Lilystar's hunting patrol."

"No." Treepaw stated.

"He's the deputy, you can't just—"

"No!"

"Treepaw!" Redpaw got to her paws and stormed over to him so that they were standing nose to nose. "Stoneclaw is the deputy!" Redpaw growled. "More than that he's your father! So stop doing what _you_ want to do for once, and actually listen to him and do what he says. The clan doesn't revolve around you, you arrogant fox-heart!"

"I-I c-can't go." Treepaw backed up a few paces. "I'm _not_ going!"

"Yes you are! What would _Hazelfall_ think?"

Treepaw straightened. "Hazelfall wouldn't want me to go."

"How would you know?"

The three apprentices whirled around at the familiar voice. Lilystar padded forward to stand by Redpaw.

"You only knew your mother as a kit. She's gone now." Lilystar argued, a fake look of sadness and loss passing over her face. "She was a good cat. Taught me most of what I know. Her death was so sudden, I wish I knew the reason."

Treepaw stared at Lilystar, not even bothering to hide his shaking. Lilystar gazed at him with hesitance in her eyes. A sudden shock and realization passed through her gaze before being replaced with horror and anger. She turned to Ashpaw.

"Ashpaw, do you want to go on the dawn patrol or a hunting patrol."

"Redpaw told me that Stoneclaw said I had to hunt." Asshpaw replied.

"Oh okay, you should go on Hollyheart's patrol, they're about ready to leave. Redpaw you're patrol is waiting for you, hurry and catch up."

"Okay, Lilystar! C'mon Ashpaw, I can't wait to see the prey you bring back and tell me how you caught it!" She loped to the entrance where Rainfur waited with the dawn patrol and Hollyheart waited with her hunting patrol. Ashpaw glanced uncertainly at Treepaw before following.

Spiderpaw stretched and yawned outside of the apprentice den. Looking around, he caught sight of his mentor and Ashpaw standing by the entrance and bounded over.

"Can I join?" 

"Sure, why not—" Hollyheart begins.

"Spiderpaw!" Lilystar called, glaring at Treepaw. "I want you to join my patrol! Hollyheart, you'll take Treepaw!"

Treepaw bounded over to them as Spiderpaw trudged over to Rainfur's side. Lilystar joined her patrol and led them out of the camp. Hollyheart beckoned to her patrol and the cats followed her out the camp. To Ashpaw's pleasure, she led the cats near the unclaimed territory.

"Let's split up." Hollyheart ordered. "Ashpaw, are you fine on your own? You bring back more prey to the clan than any of us with your tree-climbing skills." The black warrior praised.

Ashpaw gave Treepaw a look before they split up and he nodded before following a younger, perky apprentice. Ashpaw scurried up into a tree, noticing a squirrel with it's head stuck in a small hole. Leaping to each branch with graceful cautiousness, she reached the squirrel and killed it with a quick bite.

She carried it down and dug it underneath the roots of the tree. She managed to catch another prey before Treepaw appeared. Ashpaw quickly buried her other prey with her first catch, before turning to her friend.

"We have to hurry so no cat gets suspicious."

Treepaw nodded and Ashpaw spun around, leading him through OakClan territory and to the unclaimed territories. After her third trip over a root, Treepaw suggested she climb the trees and he'd follow from below. Ashpaw quickly scurried up a tree and leaping from branch to branch while Treepaw raced below proved to be far more efficient than her attempting to lead him from the ground.

Once the two neared Clover's camp, Ashpaw leapt down from the tree and slowed her steps to match Treepaw's tired pace. The two padded side by side for a moment longer before Treepaw stopped suddenly.

"She killed my mother." He meowed.

Ashpaw nodded. "I know."

"She left you and your brothers alone to fend for yourselves against twolegs and dogs!" He shook his head. "And she _lied_ to you, a lot! What kind of she-cat..."

_Hazelfall must've told him._ Ashpaw nodded again, wincing. "I know."

"You were really brave." His tail drooped. "I'm going to miss you, Ashpaw, you were my only friend."

Ashpaw wove around him. "I'm going to miss you too Treepaw." She meowed.

"You were the first one to not see me as an arrogant and mouse-brained fox-heart."

"That's because you're not." Ashpaw snorted. "Other cats are just too mouse-brained to know that."

Treepaw purred, twining his tail with hers for a few heartbeats before stepping away.

"D-Do you think Mouse and Clover will let me stay?"

"Of course we will." Mouse emerged from the undergrowth, amusement glittering in his eyes. The two apprentices dipped their heads in slight embarrassment. 

Clover nodded padding out behind her mate, almost tripping over Maple who was dancing around his mother's paws. "You can stay for as long as is necessary. We won't mind the extra company." She turned to Ashpaw. "You should get back to your camp now, before anyone notices anything suspicious."

"Okay." Ashpaw replied.

Treepaw darted forward to touch noses with her in farewell, before she turned and bounded away. She could feel Treepaw's gaze remain on her as she left. When Ashpaw reached OakClan territory, she glanced back in the direction she came. A small purr rumbled in her throat as she knew that Treepaw was safe. Clover and Mouse had escaped Lilystar for moons now, and Treepaw would undoubtedly be safe in their care.

A small piece of her stayed in the clearing where they'd said goodbye; just as a small piece of Treepaw went with her as she left.


End file.
